Hitomi Higurashi
by K.D.Fahn
Summary: Hitomi was an average girl, then, when her family is killed, she discovers she's really a cat demon and a princess. Now she has to live with Genkai and be a Spirit Detective. What else could go wrong? Hieixoc I finally posted Chapt 4! Yay! R&R!
1. The mission

It was 8:30am in Japan and Spirit World was quiet as everything was just starting to begin for the new day. And then, with the crash of two large doors…the peace was broken.

"What do you want, Squirt? I was trying to sleep!" Yusuke Urameshi shouted wiping the sleep from his eyes angrily.

"Good morning, to you too, Yusuke," the young prince said flatly, having said similar thing to the boy dozens of times. "You have a new mission." He said directing it to the rest of the Spirit Detectives in his office. Turning to the screen, he switched it on revealing, to the surprise of the boys, a family photo. "This is the Higurashi family, they are your mission. You must protect them at all cost." He said sternly.

Meanwhile, back in Nigenkai…

The gaps in the blinds let thin rays of light shine through and land on her face, causing her to slowly wake from a deep sleep. She slowly rolled out of bed and stretched every tired muscle in her body. After a few pops and creaks, the light scent of cooked food floated to her nose. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her green eyes grew wide and a large smile grew on her face. As fast as her sleepy self could go, she raced down the flight of stairs and nearly ran into the door at the bottom. Opening it wide, she ran over to the kitchen table and wrapped her father in a tight embrace. Turning to the older man next to him, she hugged him as well then walked over and gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Well, you seem happy," her mother smiled knowingly, "What's gotten into you…?" she teased.

"Oh, nothing much, just excited." She couldn't contain it anymore, " 'Cause it's my Birthday!!!" she shouted happily.

"Really? I had no idea, are you sure, I think I'd remember my own child's birthday." Her father joked, a small smile on his lips hidden by his coffee cup.

"Oh stop it, you guys really need to come up with better material. I stopped falling for it when I was 9." She said shaking her head at they're antics.

Her mother turned with a plate full of pancakes and another with ham, bacon and sausage. As she set them down, she looked at her husband nodding her head. "You know she's right. This is rather childish." She said with more believable sarcasm then before. She turned around went over to the stove, coming back with a plate with nothing but eggs, scrambled, poached, over easy, and a few in cheesy egg sandwiches. On the other plate there was nothing but toast and hashbrowns.

"Alright, dig in everybody," she said once she sat down. After all the food was pasted out they sat quietly for a moment before starting a new conversation.

"So, what are we doing today…? I can't wait till our little excursion begins." She asked in anticipation while stuffing the rest of the sausage link in her mouth.

"Calm down, child, the day is still young," he grandfather smiled at her warmly. "We're going to the lake for a picnic. Anything we do after is entirely up to you."

She smiled happily then finished her last pancake and stood. "I'm going to go take a quick shower. I'll be down in 15." She kissed her mothers cheek and thanked her for breakfast before rushing up the stair to her room.

Back in Reikai…

"Care to elaborate?" Hiei asked slightly annoyed.

He pushed a button, unseen by the boys, and the eldest member of the family's face was circled and enlarged so they could see it better. He had dull gray-blue eyes and silver hair that came down past his shoulders in a low braid. His clothes were old fashioned and gave him a certain air of royalty.

"This is Tatsuya Higurashi. He is a cat demon and was once the Demon Lord of the Northern Cat Demon Kingdom," he said looking at the boys making sure they were paying attention.

After pushing another hidden button, a circle appeared around the other man in the photo. He had blue eyes like the other man only they were a darker deeper shade, like navy or even midnight blue. His hair was as black as Yusukes hair, maybe darker but it seemed to have a blue tint to it in to sun. He wore casual yet nice clothes and he gave off firmness to his stance yet a kind, compassionate glint could be seen in his deep dark orbs.

"This is his son, Tatsuo, he was next in line for the throne. The woman standing next to him is his wife, Kimiko." He said as another circled closed around her face.

She had sandy blonde hair that was in a short wispy haircut framing her face perfectly. Her eyes were a vibrant shade of lime green, seeming to glow making pale yet slight natural tan more noticed with the bright contrast. She wore a pretty blouse and nice jeans, not at all like any of their mothers. She had a confidence that radiated off of her but still had the modest characteristic most mothers shared.

After he was done with them, he went to the last member of the family, "Finally, this is Hitomi, she is Tatsuo and Kimiko's only child. The ages of the others are unknown but she is exactly 16 years old. They live in a large cabin only 40 miles from Genkai's temple, in the middle of the woods." He said explaining the location.

Hitomi rushed down the stairs as fast as she could. When she opened the door she noticed her mother had also changed into something for their trip. Her yellow knee length sundress was lovely on her mother, though she knew she'd never be caught dead in it.

"Are you ready to go, sweetie?" She looked up at her daughter with a small smile on her face. Hitomi couldn't remember a day when her mother hadn't had that smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said with a shrug, pulling her long, silky black hair back in a high ponytail. She walked over to the back door and opened it up for her mother.

"Thank you, Hitomi," she smiled, "Your father and grandfather are waiting for us near the woods. Don't wander off like you did last time, alright?" Her mother said firmly, eyeing her daughter.

She rolled her eyes at her mother. "Alright, honestly mother, it was no big deal."

"Yes, I know but still…" she said with pleading eyes. "Don't run off again."

"So, why the hell do we have to protect them, Koenma?" Patience was never Yusuke's strong suit.

"I was getting there." He said in a frustrated sigh. "As I said before, Tatsuya was once the Lord of a great cat kingdom. He had a wife and three children, two sons and a daughter. His wife died when his children were young. Once they were all had grown older and matured he named his oldest child, Tatsuo, the next king. Tatsuo had a twin brother named Tsuyoshi and he was furious. He demanded his father to let him be the next lord but he refused him. Several nights later he attempted to kill his brother but their sister, Masumi, had seen him and stopped him but ended up dying in the end. Tsuyoshi was banished from the Kingdom because ancient law stated members of the royal family couldn't be executed. Several weeks later, he came back with 10 assassins and drove them out of the city. They escaped to Nigenkai and have lived there ever since. Tsuyoshi is now ruling and hasn't gone after them since he chased them off but my informants tell me that he found out where they are and is sending assassins to kill them tomorrow. You have to protect them at all cost." He said sternly. Eyeing each of them, he added, "You'll be staying there until the attack begins and you've defeated them. And try to be discreet, Hitomi knows nothing of this information and I'd like to keep it that way." He said turning off the screen.

"Wait a seconds, what do you mean she doesn't know?" Yusuke asked curiously.

"They never told her and she was probably too young to remember running way," Kurama said answering his question. Looking at Koenma, he asked a question that he couldn't easily find the answer to on his own.

"Koenma, why does Tsuyoshi rule if he was banished? And why is he still chasing after the Higurashi family?"

"He brainwashed the kingdom. He told them that his family gave up and ran away. He also told them he killed his sister because she was a traitor to the thorn but no one believed him at the time he was exiled." He looked angered at all he said but continued with a steady voice. "He's still after them because he fears they'll come back and try to take what he rightfully stole."

It took awhile but they reached the lake and Hitomi immediately jumped in with her clothes still on. She swam around in the near perfect crescent, waiting for her body to get used to the chill of the water. As her body relaxed to the cool temperature she swam over to the weeping willow that made the in curve of the lake. Taking a deep breath, she dove under and around the roots of the tree that were in the water and came to a spot where the trees roots didn't lock them selves to the ground. Swimming to the surface, she looked around her special hidden spot. It was like a cave. The tree met with the ground but was high enough for someone her height to sit comfortably. Some of the roots were open enough to see the outside, which she used to spy on animals and, at the moment, her parents, who were busy setting up for the picnic.

"Hitomi," her grandfather called, knowing her was in her secret spot.

She dove back into the water and with in a few seconds, was back at the top by the edge. "Hi Grandfather," she smiled shivering from the cold water her body refused to adjust to.

Her grandfather smiled knowingly and came closer to the edge letting his cane be hit by the mini waves that were made by Hitomi's constant shaking. "Is the water really that cold? You should wait for the sun to warm it before you start swimming, young one."

As soon as he said thoughs words the water slowly became warmer til it was bearable. "No, it's fine grand father." She said with a smile then she saw the look on his face abruptly change from it's usual free spirited smile to a icy glare. Walking out of the lake she came up to him with worried eyes. "Grandfather, are you okay, is something wrong?" Her voice etched with fear.

"Hitomi, go to your spot and stay as silent as possible until I say otherwise." He said ignoring her questions.

"But, Grandfather…" she started but he quickly interrupted her his cold glare on her now.

"Hitomi," he said looking back up in the direction of their house. "Go and promise me you'll stay as quiet as possible no matter what you see. Do you promise?" he turned to her, the look on his face scaring her.

With a shaky voice she replied, "I promise." She ran to the edge of the lake and dove in, quickly swimming to her hidden spot. Sitting quietly, she sat next to one of the small opening in the roots to watch what was going to take place.

"Koenma, Sir!" George said running in to the office out of breath.

"This better be good, Ogre, I'm in the middle of something important," Koenma said angrily. He glared a

him, having noticed the boys had turned their attention away from him and to the blue man behind them.

"The assassination. It's happening…right now." He said still trying to regain his breath.

Immediately his eyes grew wide with shock. "But my informants… Their never wrong." He said in disbelief.

"There's a first time for everything." Kurama said with a tone that clearly said they had to hurry.

"Alright," the prince said composing himself, "I have a portal already made up but it won't take you directly there but you'll be down the road from their house. It'll take ten minutes to reach it," he then looked down at a small computer screen on his desk. After pushing a few buttons, he looked up at them with anxiety in his dark brown eyes. "They currently at a lake 5 minutes from the house. Good luck boys, and hurry." They then all turned to the portal that just appeared next to the group of Spirit Detectives and all four boys quickly jumped through.

Hitomi looked out at her family, fear etched in her lime green eyes. She was about to call out to her grandfather when everything became silent. The birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing… It was as if the forest itself quieted awaiting the unknown that had yet to come.

"Here pretty kitty…" a mocking voice came from the woods. She looked in the direction the noise came from and what she saw left her wide eyed with shock. 7 cloaked figures walked out from the shadows of the woods. They walked elegantly toward the clearing surrounding her family. They all had sinister glints in their eyes. But that's not what left her breath caught in her throat. On each of the tops of their heads sat two large cat ears and a long tail twitching behind each of them.

"What do you want from us?" her mother said with the confidence she radiated but barely showed.

"The bounty on your heads," an orange-haired being said in an old worn voice, his gold eyes glowing.

The wind then gradually began to pick up whipping around each of her family members. She looked at them with confusion and anxiety in her eyes. Their bodies gave off a strange glow, her mothers green, her fathers blue and her grandfathers silvery white. Soon they began to change; their nails grew long, their hair whipped wildly, growing slightly longer, they stood in fighting stances and once the glow died down and the wind stopped blowing, she stifled a gasp in surprise and shock. They all had cat ears and a tail just like the others.

"Good luck," her father said jumping at two of them. His nails were instantly 5ins each and he was using them like daggers keeping them at bay.

As her father went for them, her mother jumped at two as well but instead of attacking, she stayed on the defensive, watching each move perfectly as if calculating what they'd do next and then she struck, killing one.

She didn't know what shocked her most, her family's new appearance or them fighting and killing living creatures before her eyes. She looked over to her grandfather, not having seen him move the entire time. He was circled by the remaining three. Their eyes never came off him and vice versa.

"Yukio, you sniveling snake in the grass. I knew I could smell your stench." Her grandfather said with a coldness she had never seen from him before.

"Your as cruel an old man as the day you banished me, Lord Tatsuya," he said with malice.

'Lord? What in the world…?' she thought quietly to herself.

"Hey, guys, I see the house…" Kuwabara said as the building came into view.

"Really? I had no idea. Thanks for sharing…" Yusuke replied sarcastically. "Come on, we still have to get to the woods."

"I smell blood." Kurama said worriedly, "We have to hurry."

"Cruel? I wasn't the one who murdered a woman in front of her children." His eyes were full of hate; she almost gasped from the intensity in the depths of his gray-blue eyes.

"Everyone knew she deserved it except you. And now I'll give you what you so rightly deserve." At that they all jumped for him, their daggers drawn.

Waiting for the exact moment, he jumped kicking the daggers out of the hands of the other two. One made the fatal mistake to go after the weapon. Her grandfather, quickly seeing this, flicked up the other dagger with his tail and threw it at the unsuspecting cat creature, hitting it in the throat. She covered her mouth as not to scream from the sight before her. She closed her eyes, so she wouldn't witness any more deaths, and then she heard the scream of a woman and the only woman she remembered seeing was…her mother. Her eyes immediately snapped open and darted over to where her mother was. Her eyes widened greatly at what she saw. Embedded in her shoulder was a dagger that looked hauntingly similar to the one her grandfather had thrown. She clutched her shoulder at the same time her mother did. Tears escaped her eyes as she watched her father's heart broken look on his face. Her mother fell to her knees hissing in pain. Instantly, her father was at her side, fighting off the other 3 cat people. The first one she saw fall by her fathers hand was the one she believed tried to kill her mother, for her father had an emotionless glare watching him die.

She turned her head in disgust. At that moment she believed nothing could shock her anymore. She crawled into a corner of her little hide out and puked. Covering it, she wiped her face of with the water from the lake and turned back to the action. Her grandfather was doing pretty well until a gasp was heard. She looked over at her parents only to see her father on the ground and her mother clutching her stomach. One of the cat things grabbed her mother by the hair and forced her to her knees. Another cat came up behind her father and did the same making him face her.

"Look into her eyes," the cat said, his startling orange eyes glowed with a sick amusement. "See the pain she's in? You caused it." And with that the one holding her mother slapped her across the face then kicked her in the gut so she couldn't scream.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears of pain and fear streaking his face.

The cat behind him apparently didn't like this response because he then kneed her father straight in the kidney. He gasped in pain then his head dropped and he refused to look at his wife. "Your pathetic," he said darkly, "Look at her." He demanded. When her father refused, he shouted at him, "Look at her!" he jerked his head so he looked into her lime green eyes. They stared at each other for a moment then her mother began to cry silently. "Watch each other. You married each other, you ran together, you lived here together… It's only fitting you die together."

Hitomi looked away and shook her head as if to wake her self from a bad dream. She then looked over at her grandfather and saw him horribly beaten. He was putting all of his weight on his left side, his right arm was hanging loosely at his side and his neck, face and arms had claw marks on them. "Are you going to try and help them again, old man, or are you going to fight me?" the one earlier identified as Yukio said, a smirk on his face. Her grandfather took a step towards her parents only for another cat to attack and make him fall back.

She looked over at her parents. She couldn't believe what was happening. She wanted to run out and stop them but she couldn't move, or speak and at some moments she had to remind herself to breathe. Her wide, terrified eyes landed on her parents and she felt tears slide down her face.

"Say goodbye…" The orange-eyed cat creature said lifting a clawed hand to her father's neck, while at the same time the cat holding her mother did the same.

"I love you," her mother mouthed to her husband embracing what was to come.

"I love you too," he replied then it happened. Their bodies fell to the ground, their eyes still open and filled with fear.

The entire time she didn't know how she did it but she had remained silent, but after that she couldn't stop the loud gasp that escaped her lips. As soon as the noise reached feline ears they perked slightly and turned to the tree.

"Hitomi, run!" Her grandfather groaned in pain, throwing his staff at the tree. As soon as it hit the tree it seem to melt into it and untangle the roots. Hitomi was then revealed and quickly stood and bolted from the lake, deeper in the woods.

"Hmmm…" Yukio purred then turned to the older cat that was lying on the ground near death. "It seems you've been hiding something from us, old man."

"She's no one of any importance. You've gotten what you came for now leave." He pleaded, gasping for air.

Yukio arrogantly walked over, a wicked smirk on his face. He pressed his foot on Tatsuya's chest and leaned his head closer. "You seem to greatly care for her if you don't want us to go after her." He licked his lips and looked in the direction of the girl. "Come on boys, lets have some fun." He smiled at the dying cat creature, "Nighty night…" he then bound off into the woods, leaving the Tatsuya to die.

Less than 5 minutes later the boys arrived at the clearing only to see they already had failed the mission. They stood there and took in the sight of the bloody battle they had barely missed. Kurama noticed to familiar faces and walked over.

"Maybe they got away…" Kuwabara suggested. He knew he was more than likely going to be proven wrong.

"No, they didn't." Kurama said a grim look on his face. "They're right here." He said standing and looking down at the couple. He walked back over to the group and shook his head. "Now all we need to do is find the other two."

As soon as these words were spoken, a hand reached out and grabbed Hiei's ankle. He quickly reached for his katana and looked down with a deadly glare on his face.

"Help…" Tatsuya groaned. He coughed, blood spurting from his mouth.

Kurama was instantly at his side examining his wounds. "We will. We're the Spirit Detectives. You'll be fine." He had on a reassuring smile but he knew they were too late to help him.

"There's no need to lie to me, young one, I know it's my time." He said holding Kurama's hand, his eyes were kind and understanding but immediately turned anxious. "You have to help my grand daughter. She," he began but started coughing again, then continued, "She needs you. They'll kill her."

"We'll help her. We won't let anything happen to her." He said with determination in his eyes.

"You must promise me you'll save her." He squeezed Kurama's hand his voice urgent. His gray-blue eyes were fading but refused to dim completely until he promised.

"I-I promise…" he said looking into the man's eyes, his own green ones wide.

"You promised… Help her… Help her… Save…" and with that he sighed his last breath his eyes were closed and his hand was limp. Kurama set it down gently and stood. He looked into the direction of the girls' faint scent. "Let's go." They then began to run as fast as they could to the dying smell.

She ran as fast as she could, her breathing heavy and ragged. Her black short shorts were still drenched as if she were still sitting in the lake. The black and white plaid suspenders flapped the sides of her legs as she ran, occasionally getting caught on something. At one point she ripped them off and threw them after they fell from her shoulders for the third time, which she had put them there to keep them out of the way. She didn't know where she was going but she knew she couldn't stop. And for the strangest reason, she wasn't tired like she usually was after running. She was also running slightly faster. Almost too fast apparently, for she almost ran right off the cliff that was now right in front of her. She skidded to a halt then looked in either direction. It was like a little outlet 200ft in diameter. And the only way out of there was to go back or jump.

"Aww… is the little girl afraid of heights?" said an all too familiar voice. Yukio walked out of the woods towards here his remaining lackeys right behind him.

She just looked at him with a mixture of anger, hatred, fear and disgust shining in her bright eyes. She knew what was to come. She was going to die, possibly horribly beaten in the process with the slight chance of rape, but she didn't care. She had nothing to live for now. Her only family was dead and no one at school cared. She had nothing, so why was she desperate to escape or fight, not that she stood a chance… Then one of the emotions she had felt exploded inside her and she had on her infamous glare that sent most of the kids at school to the counselors.

"Oh, what's wrong, Sweetie? Did we make you mad?" one of the cat things said with a mocking smirk, his brown ears twitching with delight at the look on her face.

She didn't want to talk to them. She wanted to spit on them. They were vermin. They were filth. They didn't even deserve a name they were so pathetic.

"I think we hurt her feelings…" another said faux sympathy in his yellow eyes.

"Why don't we make it feel all better boys…?" Yukio said sauntering towards her.

As the boys raced on Kuwabara tripped on something that was on the path. "What the hell?" Kuwabara said lifting up what caused him to fall, revealing suspenders.

"That has the sent of a cat on it. She was here. Come on, we're wasting time." He said just as Kuwabara stood an earthshaking scream could be heard in the distance not that far from them.

As soon as they heard, it they were off. In less then 2 minutes, they were there and what they saw scared them. 5 cat demons stood around her, their claws out, dripping with blood. They all seemed untouched but she was… It was a wonder she was still standing. Her legs and arms had scrapes and cuts on them. Her stomach, which was exposed because besides the shorts, the only other thing she was wearing was her black two-piece, had several puncture wounds and gashes that were bleeding excessively. Her back had large 'X' shaped claw marks across it. Bruises were already developing on her face and a few fist-shaped ones on her chest and stomach. Her wrist looked broken from the swelling and purple-green color that was forming around it. They all were dumb-founded until the sound of her whimpering in pain brought them back.

"Hey buddy, why don't you pick on someone your own gender?" Kuwabara said angrily. His fists were clenched as well as his jaw.

"Oh look, more play things." The orange-eyed cat said with a smirk. The other 4 cat demons attacked the boys, menacing smirks on their faces, while Yukio stayed by Hitomi, the only thing that kept her from collapsing was him holding her up by her now dull black hair. Everyone but Yusuke, was using their usual attacks to keep their opponents at bay as they slashed their claws at the Detectives. Yukio's eyes narrowed in annoyance when he saw his men fall so quickly. Anyone else would have said they put up a good fight but to him 10 minutes wasn't good enough. As the boys walked closer, glares on their faces, Yukio subconsciously took a few steps back, pulling Hitomi with him. He continued until his foot hit the edge of the cliff and a smirk appeared on his face.

"It was fun while it lasted," he said leaning back his hand still tightly tangled in her black mane.

Yusuke, seeing what was to happen, pointed his finger at the cat and fired his Spirit Gun. The cat's eyes widened and once it hit him, they relaxed and closed as he fell backwards off the cliff, his hand loosening from Hitomi. She stood there momentarily, then let out a loud gasp and fainted. She was just about to hit the ground when Hiei grabbed her, holding her bridal style.

Kurama looked at him anxiously until Hiei answered the unasked question; "She's alive fox, but just barely."

Yusuke quickly took out his communicator and Koenma's face appeared on the screen. "Well, are they okay?" His voice was lined with worry and urgency.

"Sorry Koenma, we were too late. Hitomi is the only survivor and she's barely holding on." He looked at the girl Hiei held with painful eyes.

"Well, hurry up and get her here. The closest portal I can get to you guys is the one you used to get there." He began typing something and nodded at the teen. "It's ready. Now please hurry."

"Hiei…" Kurama started but the fire demon was no longer there. He had already left with the cat demon in his arms. "Koenma, Hiei's on his way with her." His voice was low and saddened. He couldn't imagine what she had seen.

"You guys' need to do one more thing for me, you need to get Tatsuya's staff. It's somewhere in the clearing," he began to type something then turned back. "Here are the coordinates. I trust you'll find it." He said with a nod then the screen went blank.

"Come on, the faster we find it the faster we can go home," Yusuke said running towards the clearing.

Once Hiei had heard 'the toddler', as he referred to him, begin to freak out and told them where the portal was, he was off. As he neared it, he felt her wince as he jumped suddenly avoiding a tree limb, jerking her. He didn't look down at her but knew she more than likely had a pained look on her face. He jumped through the swirling vortex, only to meet two Spirit World doctors that had a gurney in Koenma's office waiting for them. He placed her on it and as he pulled away, he felt a tug on his neck keeping him for moving. He looked down and suddenly noticed her arms were wrapped around his neck tightly. He pulled again but after she didn't let go, he grabbed her wrist's and pulled them apart. She gasped in pain, her eyes squeezing tightly. He set her arms down next to her and the two doctors ran her off to the medical wing. He felt something warm on his hands and he looked down only to see them covered in blood. He then felt the back of his neck, which was also soaked with the red liquid. He stared down at his hands and stayed that way until the rest of the boys came through the portal. Yusuke was the first to speak.

"There. We're done, now can we go home now? I need to take a shower." He said angrily throwing the staff, this was obviously not what he had in mind for his summer vacation.

"Yes, you can go. But come back later today at around 2. I need to speak with you about Hitomi." The young prince said with a stern voice his eyes never leaving theirs. They all quickly left silently the only noise that could be heard was coming from the medical ward as Hitomi screamed in pain.

Well, there you go. You like it? I hope so. Read and review my friends...


	2. Moving

Thank you so much to lost in imagination for reviewing. I got more hits then I expected the first day and I'm so happy! Yay! Sorry it took so long to get the second one up. The first chapter took me a week to finish but I'm glad you guys liked it. This one was another slightly depressing one but the next will be less 'I'm gonna slit my wrists, my life sucks, I'm so emo.' Thanks Guys! R&R

Love K.D. Fahn

The boys walked into Koenma's office and just as before, Yusuke wasn't too thrilled.

"What do you want now, Binki Breath…?" he said frustrated.

Koenma glared at the teen then his face relaxed with a sigh. "It's about Hitomi."

"How is she? Will she be okay?" Kurama asked sitting in the chair closest to the young prince.

"She'll be fine. She was very lucky. She got here just in time." He smiled at the boys as if silently thanking them. "Now there's the manner of where she'll live for the time being. I've thought everything through and decided she'll stay at Genkai's temple until we can find better living arrangements. She'll also train with you four incase they find out about her and send more assassins."

"Why would they come after her? She's weak and posses no real threat…" Hiei asked leaning against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his cloak. (I really don't know what that dress thing he wears is called but let's just go with cloak…)

"It has to do with the royal family." Koenma answered then after seeing the looks on their faces, he continued with a sigh. "In the family, once an heir is chosen, they have to do some sort of ritual. After wards, once the Lord dies, the heir receives the Lords' powers. If the heir dies, his mate receives the powers and since they are both dead, he thinks he'll get the power because in his mind Tatsuo and Kimiko had no children. Once he figures it all out, he'll be sure to go after Hitomi."

"So when are we taking the princess to Genkai's?" Yusuke asked trying to hurry things along.

"She won't be able to get out of bed for a week in the least. So until then…" he began only to be interrupted by shouts that were coming from the hall.

"No! Come back!" were the shouts. They then heard footsteps and they all turned as the doors quickly opened then abruptly closed revealing the black haired, green-eyed girl that they had rescued that very morning. She was panting with her good hand on the door; her head hung limp in front of her as she faced the door trying to catch her breath. She turned around, her eyes closed and the guys saw her face for the first time. In the picture she looked 12 and earlier her face was covered in blood so they didn't really think she'd look the way she did. Her face was round but not in the chubby way. Her high cheekbones made her look more defined and her small nose complimented her other features. Her skin was slightly paler in the picture then she was as she stood before them and her hair was shorter and had bangs. She was also slightly shorter then they imagined.

She felt as if she was being watched and she snapped her eyes open. Once she saw the five she instantly tensed. She looked from boy to boy with slight fear. First, she had woken up with a splitting headache and couldn't remember anything that happened, where she was or how she had gotten there. Then, she looked down at herself and noticed bandages gracing her arms, legs, torso, chest and a very thick one on her wrist. Once she heard a voice she looked up only to see a smiling green woman…and that was the straw that broke the camels' back. She shot up and bolted out of there and now she was in a large room with four boys and a baby.

First, her eyes landed on Kurama, though she didn't know that was his name at the time. Once she looked at him, he stood and revealed to her that he was about 6'0" tall. He had long red hair that for a split second she envied. His eyes were slightly darker than hers and seemed kind. 'Round about, she found him attractive, to say the least. Then she looked at the boy closed to him. He was another story completely. He looked like he was a few inches tall then Red, as she had dubbed him. He had beady brown eyes that seemed to have a goofy glint in them, like he loved to joke around. His hair was a brownish-orange and was in a duck tail style like Elvis, which was now his new nickname. She then looked at the boy closest to him. He was noticeably shorter then Elvis but still much taller than her. Maybe 5'10" and he had jet-black hair. Not like her fathers but still it was dark and gelled back. He had chocolate brown eyes that screamed slacker, punk, badass, and every other synonym for the term. Which is why she used Punky as his makeshift name. And once again, attractive. Then her eyes landed on Spike. He was the best of the bunch when it came to looks in her opinion. He was about 5'4" but he was leaning against the wall so she couldn't be sure. He had black hair like Punky but it had a white streak going through it, stuck straight up and seemed to defy gravity instantly giving her the urge to touch it. But once she noticed her had a weapon, she decided against it. Then she turned to the baby. Her mind screamed adorable but she refrained for moving.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Hitomi asked generally freaked out. She backed up until she hit the door and hissed in pain for the touch. "And what happened to me?"

Koenma looked at her in shock while Yusuke just snorted with a smirk on his face. "A week, huh? Time sure does fly…"

Koenma just glared at him then turned back to Hitomi. "Hello Hitomi. Are you feeling alright…?" He asked just looking at her. The moment the words left his mouth, she thought she had finally lost it. She just shook her head and decided to just go along with it as long as it got her answers.

"Not really but I'll manage. Excuse me, but where am I?" she asked beginning to panic.

"You're in Spirit World. I'm Koenma, Prince of Spirit World and these are my Spirit Detectives. This is Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Shuichi Minamino and Hiei Jaganshi." He said politely, but everything after Spirit World went through one ear and out the other.

"Charmed…" she said standing still, eyeing each of them. "Okay, know that we have that out of the way, what happened to me?" she asked looking down at herself.

"Do you remember anything from earlier today?" Koenma asked with a serious look on his face.

"Not really. I remember getting up and eating my birthday breakfast," she didn't notice but all the boys winced at what she said knowing what it meant. "Then I took a shower and got ready to go to the lake, and I jumped in the water. Then my grandfather told me to hide and not to come out till he said otherwise… And that's it." She looked up at them expectantly. When she saw the looks on their faces, she knew something was wrong. "What is it…? What happened?"

"Hitomi, you probably should sit down…" he suggested but when she refused, he continued, "Hitomi, earlier today something happened. Your family was attacked," At hearing this a memory flashed through her mind of them changing and being lunged at, "They were holding they're own but then something happened," she couldn't breathe as the memory of seeing her mother and father in pain flashed in her eyes. "Your parents were…" he began but couldn't bring himself to say it.

"What? Tell me! Are they…?" she asked, the look in his eyes scaring her.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Higurashi. We tried everything we could…" She went numb. A hundred thousand thoughts ran through her mind carrying a hundred thousand emotions that over-whelmed her. Her breath was caught in her throat. She knew he was still talking but it sounded like she was in a fishbowl. She knew they were staring at her but she didn't see them. It was as if she was cut off from everything around her. "Miss Higurashi, do you want one of the boys to escort you to the hospital wing?" he asked after having explained everything he had just explained to the boys to her.

"No; I'll be fine. Thank you…" she said in a distant voice. She turned around and walked slowly out the door, down the hall and turned into the medical wing. She walked straight into her room and lay down on the bed. The light next to her was the only thing illuminating the room. She covered herself tightly with the thick white hospital blanket and turned to the side. Finally, after what felt like hours, she allowed silent tears slide down her face as she cried herself to sleep.

Once she had left the room, there was an awkward silence among the group. Then, Koenma, having composed himself, finally spoke up.

"In a week, she'll be recovered enough to move into Genkai's. She'll begin training with you as soon as she's ready. We'll tell her about her family and the kingdom later when stable enough to handle it. But for now, I think she should rest." His voice was solemn. He couldn't bring himself to look at the boys and the guys wouldn't have blamed him. "You can go. I'll see you in a week."

* * *

A week went by slowly for both the guys and Hitomi. She didn't talk to anyone the entire time and she hadn't cried since the day that she met the boys. The only time she ever got out of bed was to go to the bathroom. She refused to eat and after the second day, they had to give her an I.V. so she would heal properly. She felt hollow, empty… She remembered everything from her parents' fight and blamed herself. She felt like she was alone and it was all her fault.

The boys could help but feel the same. They felt like shit. Like they ruined a girl's life because they weren't fast enough. There were times when Yusuke or Kuwabara would just go off on Koenma or each other for whose fault it was. Yusuke even yelled at Keiko one day for keeping him up on the phone the night before the mission. Nothing seemed to be going right for these 7 days.

* * *

The boys walked into Koenma's office and saw Genkai sitting in a large cushioned chair. She turned and looked at the boys then turned back disregarding them all together.

"I have a room for her and I explained everything to Yukina," she said in her usual raspy monotone. "So when is she getting here?"

"She'll be here soon. She's just getting dressed in something Botan brought from her room." He said in a reassuring tone.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Genkai stood up and looked expectantly. Kurama opened it and there stood George. He moved to the side and Hitomi walked in, her head down.

"Hello Hitomi. This is Genkai. You'll be living with her for a while." Koenma said introducing the older woman.

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you…" she said quietly, bowing with respect.

"Hello." Genkai turned back to Koenma and he nodded. She then turned and left the room but before she shut the door and said shortly, "I'll see you at the temple." Then she was gone.

"Hitomi, you remember the boys right?" he asked with a small smile but she wasn't looking at him. She slowly lifted her head and did a quick survey of the room. Recognizing their faces, she lowered her head again and nodded. "They will be helping you move into Genkai's. There are also some other thing's I'd like to discuss with you." Then he looked at the 4 others in the room. "Can you give us a moment?" They all left the room and waited outside.

As soon as the doors closed Yusuke and Kuwabara both had their ears pressed against the door. "Do you hear anything…?" the taller one asked.

"Not a thing…" the other replied standing-up straight and stretched.

"Aww… I want to know what their talking about…" he pouted leaning against the door.

Hiei just looked at them with slight annoyance. He then snorted at them then leaned against the wall. "He's telling her about her being a cat demon and why she and her family were attacked," he said flatly to get them to shut up.

"What else…?" he asked in a pleading tone. It was pathetic to say the least.

"He also told her that her powers are bound so she can't use them and he'll have Genkai release them when she gets to the temple." He glared at the human as he tried to speak, shutting him up. He was about to make a smart remark when someone began to open the door and Kuwabara fell back almost landing on Hitomi who had been said door opener.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Koenma shouted, angrily. He gave Hitomi an apologetic look then turned back to the boys. "You're leaving now… The portal will take you straight to her house."

"Wait a second! Why couldn't you take us there the first time?" Yusuke yelled at the small prince.

"At the time, her parents put up barriers so no one could enter with the use of a portal so it would give them enough time to escape. Since they…" he looked at Hitomi with sad eyes, then continued. "Well, you know…the barrier was dropped." He said then pushed yet another hidden button and a swirling purple blob appeared before them. They had expected her to be a little hesitant, but she just looked up at it and slowly walked through.

Once they arrived they were a little surprised to say the least. The house was pretty good sized. It was a two story white house with a large porch. They walked up to the door and when she opened it she immediately walked inside and into the kitchen. They followed her, wondering where they were going, as they looked around. Kuwabara was tempted to go over and raid the fridge but Yusuke hit him on the back of the head. They turned to what looked like a closet door or where a pantry would be located but when she opened it, a flight of stair is all that was there. She slowly ascended the 12 steps to her room. Once the guys joined her at the top they silently groaned at all the bookshelves and little trinkets she had, including a large chest.

"Well, it's not going to pack itself." Yusuke said with a sigh. He walked over to crest. It had a lock on it and looked relatively old. He nodded to Kuwabara and he went over and helped him lift it and take it outside. But the portal wasn't there; instead Botan stood there with a big 70's mini van.

"What are you doing here?" Kuwabara asked walking the trunk to the back of the car.

She just shrugged and tightened her ponytail; "Helping…" she smiled at them, opened the back and walked into the house. She followed where Kurama had just come from and walked up the stairs almost running into Hiei in the process, who was carrying folded blankets and pillows.

Once she reached the top, she looked around and found Hitomi putting her books into a box. "Hello Hitomi. I'm Botan, Yusuke's assistant and Grim Reaper. Koenma sent me here to help." She said brightly, her smile never fading.

"Um, okay, it's nice to meet you Botan." She said a little startled. She hadn't been paying attention so seeing an overly perky blue-haired, violet-eyed girl sitting next to her with a large smile on her face was a bit surprising.

"What can I do?" Botan said looking around at the room. It wasn't her style but she liked it and then she noticed the closet. "Do you want me to pack up your clothes?" she asked having seen some pink coming from her point of interest.

"If you want to. I don't care." She said getting back to work. She looked down at her nursery rhyme book her mom would teach her. She looked at the title and had to blink back tears to keep herself from breaking down. She set the book inside the box and closed it. She then walked over to her wall of posters. It wasn't even a wall anymore; it looked more like one giant collogue. She stood on her bed and began taking out the pins and placing the large pictures in another box.

She looked from band to band, boy to boy, guitar to drum… Her father, she remembered helped her put up the top posters when she was young. She was 10 and a good 4inches shorter than she was now. She was on her bed with a thumbtack and a picture of Billy Idol in hand. Her father had walked up behind her and lifted her up so she could reach. For the rest of the day that was all the two did. And since then, they added one poster, ad or photograph every last Saturday of the month.

She pulled down Billy and looked at it. For a moment she was lost in her own thoughts when a rough voice pulled her out of it.

"Move, onna…" Hiei said glaring at her as he tried pulling the sheets off her bed.

"Oh, sorry," she said jumping off, putting it in the box and walking over to her vanity mirror. She sat down and began putting brushes, make-up and her jewelry in another box. She reached up to a picture that was placed on the mirror itself. It was of her and her mother at some school picnic when she was 5. She was smiling, as was her mother in their matching sundresses. They wore the same sun hat and pair of glasses on their heads. Besides their hair, they looked exactly alike. Once the memory was gone she looked into the mirror and another one surfaced.

She was getting ready for a school dance. She was 12. Her and her best friend were going and she was excited. She remembered her mother sitting behind her brushing her hair and giving her some calming words. "You look great," and "Don't worry." She smiled at her mothers' words and just agreed with her. When they came back, her and her mother had a mini slumber party in her room and they talked about it all night.

She couldn't help but smile at the night she and her mother stayed up til dawn. Then she remembered the last time they were in front of the mirror together. The last time her mother brushed her hair and wished her good night. She had been sitting there looking at her self when her mother came in and ran a brush through her hair. She smiled at her and braided it. They then walked over to the bed and she tucked her daughter in telling her their annual Pre-Birthday Story. It was always the same story of how a princess and a prince fell in love and ran away together and had a child. It wasn't on the Best Sellers list but she always loved it. She had it memorized and could recite it word for word backwards. Her eyes began to water as she remembered how her grandfather interrupted and how she made him quiet down so they could finish. Her mother had wished her good night and told her she loved her.

And now she would never hear it again. She would never hear her fathers' laughter after scaring his wife. She'd never see her grandfathers' smile when she spoke to him. She would never eat her mothers' homemade pancakes with her secret sauce. She would never go swimming with them at the lake, or go for a drive in the countryside or have their Halloween party… Nothing would ever be the same. At these sad realizations that it was actually over, she began to cry. First a few tears then a full sob. She rested her head on the table and let everything she had bottled up for the past week out.

When the guys saw her, they all agreed it would be best to leave her alone and finished packing by themselves. After 2 hours, they were finally done and they all drew straws on who was going to venture up stairs to get her so they could leave. Unfortunately for Hiei…

"You lose!" Kuwabara laughed at the shorter one. He just glared at the human as if to say, 'Don't go to sleep tonight…' "Aww… Is Hiei afraid of a little crying cat girl?" he teased.

"Hn." And with that he walked into the house and up the stairs. She was still at the vanity with her head laying on it, her hair covering her face.

Hiei walked over and lightly pushed her shoulder, "We're leaving now, with or without you…" When he go no response, he was about to shake her again when he heard light breathing coming from her and deduced she was sleeping. He turned to leave her but decided he didn't want to get another lecture from the fox. He picked her up bridal style but remembered what had happened before and held her in a way where she couldn't sling her arms up and wrap them around his neck.

When he brought her down, he got a look from Kurama and he just ignored him. He went to put her in the car but before he could, Kurama was already beginning his little rant.

"Hiei, that doesn't look very comfortable. You may be hurting her." He said looking concerned for the girl in his arms and disappointed at his long time friend.

He just set her in the middle seat next to Botan and sat at the window seat on the other side of her. Kuwabara and Yusuke fought over who was to drive and then who was to sit in the front when Kurama volunteered for the first position. Yusuke and Kuwabara flipped a coin. But Yusuke never told him it was a doubled-headed coin. Needless to say, the larger of the two was stuck in the back; not strapped in and very pissed off.

"I hate you, Urameshi!" He shouted as the made a sharp corner causing him to hit his head on one of the boxes. Yusuke was sitting in the front laughing his ass off at the sight of his friend, until Botan reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. Her violet eyes glowed with frustration as she pointed at Hitomi.

"Will you two shut up, already? You guys are going to wake her up and I can't hear the radio." She said hotly. It was weird getting yelled at by her consistering whenever people saw her they figured she was as sweet as pie. But heknew better. Yusuke just rolled his eyes and flipped through the channels until they all agreed on a station, minus Hiei who really didn't care. For the rest of the ride all they did was listen to soft rock and resent pop hits.

After a few more minutes they were at Genkai's temple. They groaned at the sight of the stairs but just started hauling stuff up. Well Kuwabara and Yusuke did. Kurama, being the rational thinker we all know and love, pulled out his communicator and asked Koenma for another portal and, after reassuring him it wouldn't take long, he nodded in agreement and large mass of purple appeared in front of him. He thanked the prince and closed the little compact before grabbing boxes and taking them through the portal and into the temple. He set it down and was about to leave to get another when Genkai showed up.

"Oh, no you don't…" she grumbled. The boys were finally reaching the top and were about to put theirs with his box when Genkai's glare stopped them. "Her rooms this way." She said leading them down the hall and to the back bedroom. She took out a key and opened the door letting them in.

They glanced around the space. It was plain and fairly empty with a few dressers and a thin mattress, some floor lamps and a night table… But that's not what surprised them. The room was huge. It was about half the size of Yusuke's _house_.

"Hey, Grandma! Why didn't you give any of us this room?" Yusuke asked in annoyance.

"Because for one, you free loader, you don't live here and you only stay to train. Kuwabara's a slob, Kurama, I figured, would appreciate a room regardless the size and Hiei is never here anyway and frankly, doesn't give a damn." She said in her raspy voice, glaring at him. He just grumbled something under his breath about it not being fair and her being a bitter, wretched old woman.

"It's not that great," Kuwabara said trying to add to the conversation. But than added as a side note, without thinking and a little loud, "Yukinas' is just as big." He then quickly clamped his hand over his mouth and looked at them hoping they didn't hear.

Of course, this was never the case.

Yusuke's eyes were wide and his jaw was slack, Kurama just stared at him while Genkai glared. He looked around at the three raising his hands as if to protect himself. He tried to explain but nothing came out. 'Oh' and 'shit' were the only two words that came to mind.

"Go Kuwabara…" Yusuke said raising his hand, trying to high-five his best friend.

"No! It wasn't like that." He said hurriedly. He shook his head trying to explain but was interrupted by Yusuke, yet again.

"Don't be ashamed, man. You broke your Honor Code. So what? You finally got what you wanted since the 5th grade." He said in a reassuring tone. He didn't care if it was true or not, but he loved embarrassing the big dork.

"No, I would never do something like that, especially not to Yukina." He said angrily. He couldn't believe what his best friend was implying.

"Good, 'cause there will be none of that in my temple," Genkai said walking off. Her glare still set. _I hate them, so very much_, she thought angrily.

"Welcome to manhood, Kuwabara." Yusuke said laughing. Kurama knew he was being an ass, but that crossed the invisible line from teasing to generally insulting him and Yukina.

He couldn't take it anymore. He was seething. "Shut the Hell up!" he shouted at Yusuke, keeping him quiet. "I would never dishonor a woman like that. I was here training and she came out and asked me to grab something for her on the top shelf in her room. That's it, nothing happened." He said with clenched fists.

It was silent for a while before Kurama finally spoke. "I think we should finish bringing stuff in before dinner." He walked down the hall and out the door with the others following behind quietly.

* * *

It took them a good 45 minutes to bring everything up and another 2 hours to unpack and organize everything. Botan and Yukina were in charge of the clothes. They insisted. After everything was done, they looked at everything they had finished and they all decided that since Hiei has carried her all the other times, he'd do it again. No one quite understood how this was fair but it worked.

He walked through the portal and into the van where she was, still asleep, laying down with one of her blankets on her. They had left her out there for three reasons: they didn't want to wake her up, they were too busy and since it wouldn't get dark til 10:00 because of the season, they figured it was okay. Well not Kurama and Genkai didn't really disagree; neither did Hiei.

Hiei looked at her and sighed inwardly. He leaned in to scoop her up like before but remembered Kurama's words and the 'look'. He hated it so much. He put his arms under her and held her with her arms against his chest, making sure she wasn't in an uncomfortable position or at least in a way where it didn't look like it. He walked through the portal and straight to her room; setting her on a red chair they had brought up and put in the corner. Kurama was making her bed.

When he looked over at the two, he smiled then turned back to his work. "Thank you, Hiei…"

The fire demon just did his usual 'Hn' in response. He walked over and sat on the window next to the bed. "She's already more troublesome than she's worth," he glared at the girl then looked out at the sky.

"She's just grieving. I'm sure we'll see her usual self when she feels better," he said putting a thick comforter on her bed. "You never know," he said glancing at her. She looked so peaceful, not at all like that lost, empty girl who they had met not too long ago.

When he finished, Kurama lifter a corner of the bedding, picked her up and carried her to the bed. He set her on down and covered her after taking off her shoes. "Come on, Hiei. I think dinners ready." He walked out of the room, the koorime following behind silently.


	3. Changes

Hitomi's eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up and gazed at the familiar yet different room. She stood, stretching and looked at the clock. 6:45 and from the look of the sky, it was AM. She sighed at realizing how early it was and lay back down to sleep some more. She groaned and finally got up and changed quickly in to a pair of gray jeans, a white shirt with pink splashes on it and tied her hair back in a half do.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to do anything but she couldn't thank these kind strangers for saving her life and taking her in by never talking to them. She had to get herself together, no matter how much she hurt.

She walked barefoot to the door and once she opened it the smell of breakfast rushed up her nose. She walked down the hall and into the living room. She heard voices coming from the door on her left then a yell of pain indicating she wasn't the only one awake. Elvis, as she called him, walked through the door, an angry look on his face, while he clutched his right hand.

"It's not funny, Urameshi!" he shouted, while on the other side, laughter could easily be heard.

She walked up to him, as he looked at his hand. She reached out for it. "Let me see," she said in a soft voice. He just looked at her as she examined his index finger. She looked up at him and said, in tone that reminded him of Yukina, "Wait here. I'll get something for it."

She walked back to her room and into the bathroom she had discovered earlier. She opened the medicine cabinet and took out some cream and a bandage. She quickly walked back to the boy and grabbed his hand. She twisted off the top and put it in her pocket. She put some of it on his finger and told him to rub it in as she put the top back on and set it down. She then pulled out a Band-Aid and wrapped it around his finger.

"There you go," she said kindly. She looked up at him with a small smile on her face and he just looked at her.

"You're supposed to say thank you," Red said from the door. They both looked over and saw him standing there.

"Oh! Thanks," he said looking at the green Band-Aid that graced his finger.

"Your welcome." She said politely. She smelled the air and a loud growl could be heard coming from her. She blushed lightly, grabbing her stomach to silent it's demands.

"Good morning, Hitomi. How are you…?" he asked looking at her. She seemed different this morning. She wasn't as sad and she didn't look like she was distant, like she was somewhere else.

"Good morning." She smiled at Red, having forgot his name. She was never really good with names; she was better at remembering faces, not names. And besides, she wasn't really paying attention when she was first introduced to him. "I'm feeling…better," she signed.

"That's good. Breakfast is almost ready if you're hungry." He smiled at her as her stomach began to roar rather than growl.

"You read my mind." She looked up when she noticed the kitchen door open. Punky walked out, still laughing, followed shortly after by Spike. She sighed and decided she couldn't call them by her nicknames for them all the time. Turning to them she asked the question that had bugged her all morning.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot your names…" she smiled nervously. They all seemed to do the same.

"It's quite alright," Red said reassuringly, "My names Shuichi Minamino, but you can call me Kurama."

'_Note to self: Ask him later how that makes sense.'_ She thought to herself then turned to Elvis. He put a big smile on his face. Then he said in an over confident voice, "I'm the great Kazuma Kuwabara, Demon killer, ladies man, toughest guy in to-Ow! What the Hell Urameshi?!" he shouted at Punky.

"She just wants to know your name, not your fantasies." He said flatly, "I'm Yusuke." She gave him a curt nod then turned to Spike expectantly.

"Take your time," she said sarcastically after he stayed quiet. He just glared at her in response.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's not much of a talker," Kurama smiled. _'Couldn't tell,'_ she thought with a sigh. "His names Hiei."

"I think breakfast is ready." Kuwabara said looking through the door. He walked through then turned back. "Come on."

She followed them in to the kitchen, which separated the dining room with a counter. She sat down in one of the chairs. Yusuke sat down on the opposite side of the table, directly in front of her. Kuwabara sat to the left of him while then leaving the seat on his left empty. Kurama sat on her right and Hiei sat in front of the empty seat next to Kurama. Then two women came out of the kitchen.

'_I must not have noticed them when we walked through,'_ she thought to herself, as she watched them sit down.

One she recognized yet once again, no name came to mind, so she decided Ma'am would work. She sat at the head of the table, next to her and Yusuke. She seemed like she was the type that should deserve respect. She looked the woman over taking notice to the gray-pink hair and weathered look in the eye. She didn't look like a smiling type from the lack of wrinkles on the sides of her mouth. The other girl looked very pretty in her blue kimono. She had mint colored hair and familiar red eyes. The girl was as short as she was and sat in the empty seat next to Kuwabara and in front of Hiei. She thought Mint would be a good nickname seeing as her hair was the same color.

She then noticed something. She looked from Mint to Hiei and back several times. _'They look a lot alike… I wonder,'_ she thought. She went to ask her question when a voice popped in her head.

'_Don't say a thing.'_ The voice was demanding and harsh. She glanced around the table and was about to ask if anyone else heard it when, _'Don't you listen?'_

'_Who are you…?'_ she asked quietly. She got no reply. She was snapped back to reality when Yusuke snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Earth to Hitomi, come in, Hitomi," he said waving a hand in front of her face. "You there?" he was about to snap again, when she reached up and grabbed his hand.

"Yes, can I help you…?" she asked letting go of his hand.

"No, but you should help yourself before all the food gets eaten," he said gesturing to the serving dishes. They were all half-empty. She reached over and scooped up some eggs, a few sausage patties and two slices of toast. She smeared some scrambled eggs on one piece then squirted some ketchup on top. She put a sausage patty on the other and put it on top the first, making a sandwich. She went to take a bite and noticed they were all staring at her.

"What?" she said confused. They all just shook their heads and went back to their food. She just shrugged it off and took a bite.

"Hitomi, when we're finished here, Genkai's gonna unlock your powers…" Kurama said trying to make small talk.

'_Whose Genkai? That name sounds familiar. Curse my lack of name knowledge!'_ She hid her frustration with a smile. "That's cool. Thank you again for letting me stay here." She said turning to 'Ma'am'. The woman just nodded taking a sip of tea from her mug.

"So, are you excited about your powers," Yusuke asked cramming some hashbrowns in his mouth.

"Yeah. I've always preferred cats to dogs but I never thought I was a cat person." She said with a smile. They just kinda smiled at her joke. She looked at the table and realized that there was only one sausage patty left. She picked up her fork and was going to reach for it, then Yusuke asked, "Does anyone want the last sausage?" Instead of making a grab for it she pretended she wanted more eggs.

"Hitomi, you want it…?" he asked after she didn't reply. She just shook her head with a smile on her face then went back to finishing her plate. "Okay…Hey!" he shouted as Hiei swiped the patty away while he went for it.

'Hn,' was all he said.

Yusuke just sat there sulking. Hitomi stood and took her plate into the kitchen. "It's alright, Hitomi-san. I'll get it." Mint said as she rose and followed her into the kitchen, her empty plate in her hands.

"I used to do the dishes at home. I don't mind helping, really." She said politely. She walked back to the table and grabbed other empty dishes.

"Hitomi," Ma'am said while she got up and walked towards the door, the boys right behind her. "When your done, come outside." She then turned and walked out the door without another word.

She picked up the plates and once she reached Hiei's, she realized he hadn't touched the sausage patty. She just shrugged and picked it up, eating it as she took the dishes to the kitchen.

* * *

Hitomi had changed into a different outfit after she had looked out the window to see what they where doing and realized they were fighting. Her eyes were filled with worry. Sure, she knew how to fight but nothing like what they were doing. It was like a street fight-kung fu-ninja hybrid and frankly, she was terrified.

She pulled her hair up into a high pony and tucked her longer bangs that wouldn't hold behind her ears. She took three deep breaths to calm herself then walked out the door. She stood off to the side watching them go at it. It was amazing to her. Their speed, their strength… It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Minus last week but these guys weren't Super Kitties.

Ma'am was just watching them, shouting things like, "Your burning too much energy," or, "You'll never get better if you don't push yourself." She was about to walk up to the older woman when…

"Look out!" Someone shouted. She looked up in alarm and saw a big blue ball coming straight for her. She wanted to move but she was paralyzed with fear. She put her arms up and ducked her head in a pathetic attempt to protect herself, but it never hit her. She looked up and saw Ma'am standing in front of her keeping it back. When the giant orb dissipated, she could finally breathe again.

"You idiot!" Ma'am shouted at Yusuke. "What the Hell is the matter with you?! This was supposed to be a no Spirit Energy fight!" Hitomi couldn't believe that's why she was yelling at him but at that moment, she didn't care if he was getting his head bitten off 'cause he didn't shoot at her properly. Just as long as he was getting yelled at, that's all she wanted.

She looked up and noticed Kurama and Hiei had quit fighting. The red head walked up to her and looked her over quickly. "Are you alright," he asked, his eyes filled with worry.

"I'm fine. Really," she smiled. "So," she turned to Ma'am once she was done scolding her pupil, "I'm ready for the unlock-y thingy."

"Alright… Hey, idiots! Move, I'll need some room." She said to the four boys around her. They all back up and the woman stood in front of her; her eyes closed a serious look on her face.

She put her hands together as if to pray. Her eyes grew wide as a blue glow surrounded the old woman. Ma'ams' spread her fingers, then in a quickly motion pulled them apart and pushed them towards her. Blue light fired out of her hands and covered Hitomi. She felt like something was rushing through her. She flung her head back as it shot up her spine. The light grew brighter until they had to cover their eyes. She let out a loud gasp then the light exploded out pushing the four boys back. When they looked up, she was standing there holding her head, breathing heavily.

"Hitomi… You okay?" Yusuke asked walking up to her.

"I'm fine…" She lifted her head, letting her hands fall to her sides. Their eyes were wide and she noticed. "What?" She said confused.

"Your ears…" was all Kuwabara could say as he looked at her in slight shock his finger pointing at her.

"What about them…?" she asked lifting her hands to the side of her face. But she felt only skin. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she frantically patted her head, searching for her ears. She finally stopped when her hands felt something fluffy.

She ran her fingers up and over the triangular appendages that sat on top of her head. She took a deep breath, telling herself she was a cat demon and it was to be expected. She calmed herself down to about normal; that is until a certain orange-haired Elvis impersonating idiot made her panic once more.

Kuwabara had leaned over to Yusuke and quietly whispered to the boy: "You think she noticed the tail…?"

Her ears perked and she looked directly at him. She then turned abruptly looking down behind her. Sure enough, a long black fluffy tail swished behind her. She let out a small high-pitched squeak from panic, shock and irritation. She began to chew her nails out of habit, something she did when she was nervous. She only succeeded in making her tongue bleed. She looked down at her nails. They used to be small flaky little nubs that occasionally bled after being bit. Now they were long strong perfect nails that gleamed in the sun. 'That I could get used to…' she thought admiring her fingers.

She looked up and noticed the guys were still gawking at her new appearance, some more politely than other, which she had yet to see, "What? You never see a girl suddenly have cat ears and a tail before…?" She said slightly annoyed. She didn't really like having eyes on her, especially ones that screamed, "She's a freak!"

Genkai walked up to her. She examined the girl as if searching for something. "Alright, first lesson. Hiding your demonic features." She put her hands behind her back, relaxing then continued. "Close your eyes," she commanded.

Hitomi thought this request was odd but, nevertheless, let her eyelids fall. "Now, concentrate. Keep your mind blank. Look for your energy. Do you see it?" she instructed. Hitomi concentrated and soon she saw what looked like a light glowing inside her head.

"Yeah, I think so." She said looking at it harder. "It's purple." She smiled. It was one of her favorite colors.

"Alright, now imagine yourself being surrounded by it." Hitomi concentrated then nodded when she finished. "Now force it inside you. So the light is no longer around you but in you."

Hitomi furrowed her brow, finding this part harder then the rest. She finally forced it all inside her and felt tense. She then relaxed after a few moments then noticed something. "Umm… How many lights are there supposed to be?" she asked curiously, her eyes still closed.

Genkai blinked in confusion. "You're only supposed to have one. Why?"

"No reason." She said opening her eyes slowly. She reached up and felt her human ears. Sighing she thanked the woman who stood before her. She dismissed them but made Yusuke stay after and run 10 laps around her lake. Hitomi's ears perked at the words.

"You have a lake…?" she asked curiously. Her eyes grew slightly with excitement.

"Yes. It's several miles," she pointed her finger towards the woods, "that way. They sometimes train there."

"Cool. Sounds interesting." She smiled to herself then walked into the house with the others. _'I'll have to check it out some time.'_

Kuwabara smiled and hugged Mint when he walked in. She just smiled at the couple then glanced at the other two in the room. Kurama didn't seem to mind, but Hiei. He was a different story. His glare was cold and she could see death in his eyes.

Walking up to the red head she leaned in very close to him and whispered, "Hiei scares me…" she eyed him warily.

"He has that impression on people," he smirked. "We'll be making lunch soon, so feel free to show yourself around the temple."

She walked into the kitchen with him thinking it over. "Nah, I'd like to help if that's alright." She stood next to Mint and watched her as she washed her hands, waiting for the kimono-clad girl to notice her. When she did she had a small smile gracing her face.

She returned the smile and looked at the ingredients that lay on the counter. "What are we having for lunch…" Kurama, having noticed her struggle, whispered the girls name to her discreetly, "Yukina…?"

The girl turned around facing the cat demon, smiling as she tied an apron around her waist. "Hello Hitomi." Her kind voice was almost sickeningly sweet. "We're having teriyaki, tempura and spring rolls."

Hitomi's smile slowly faded at a memory of her and her grandfather making spring rolls. She felt a knot begin to form in the back of her throat when a hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"Hitomi, are you all right," Kurama asked concern etched in his emerald orbs.

"We can have something else if you want," Yukina suggested looking at the girl with equal concern.

"It's not that. I'm fine. Really." She tried to assure them, then grabbing an apron and wrapping it around her. "So, what can I help with…?" she asked trying to take the focus off her.

"Well, how good are you at wrapping spring rolls…?" Yukina asked.

Several minutes later, Hitomi was standing at the counter, putting filling inside thing sheets of dough and rolling them up. She was at the counter that separated the kitchen from dining room, on the other side on a stool sat Hiei watching her dully. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious having him watch her like that. It was unnerving in her personal opinion. She glanced up and saw his red eyes idly staring at her hands as they nimbly rolled and folded the dough. His eyes shot up, having felt hers on him, and glared into her lime green ones. She quickly averted her gaze back to her work.

"Hiei, you could help," a curtain redhead said as he filled another pot of water to cook more rice.

He just stared at the boy, "There's nothing to help with, fox."

Kurama rolled his eyes then noticed the small pile of uncooked rolls. "You could help Hitomi. I'm sure she'd greatly appreciate it."

She glanced at the rolls. Having made round about 30, she thought that would be enough for the seven of them. "No, I'm almost done." She tried to reassure him further with a smile.

"You've seen Yusuke and Kuwabara eat. I think we'll need much more." He then gave Hiei a pleading look. The fire demon 'Hn'ed but nevertheless stood and walked over to her. He reached over to grab a small sheet of dough but stopped when he noticed the look on her face.

"You should probably wash your hands first," she said meekly.

He scowled but went over to the sink anyway. After having dried them, he resumed his spot next to her and grabbed a sheet. He put some filling on the dough and attempted to roll it only to form a misshapen ball. She glanced over at his work and started laughing at the 'thing'. Hiei glared at her and she tried to force down her giggles.

"Sorry, here." She reached over and unrolled it taking out some filling and re-rolling it. "You put too much in, your only supposed to in a spoonful." She demonstrated and looked at him expectantly.

He grabbed another sheet and filled it just as she did. He watched her fold the ends and seal it with a little water. He tried but only succeeded in making a smaller version of his first creation. He scowled at it and roughly set in front of her. She held back another laughing fit and fixed his mess. She showed him again, saying step by step, but when he started to make the large ball again, she stopped him.

"Here," she said grabbing his hands. She made them move the way they were supposed to go and when they were done, Hiei, with some help for the neko, had make a near perfect roll.

"There, see? It wasn't that hard…" she smiled then walked the tray filled with uncooked rolls over to the stove.

She walked over to the sink and began washing her hands when something caught her eye. They widened at what she saw. She turned and grabbed Yukina, who was right behind her, and pulled her to the ground. "Get down!" she shouted. The boys stood there in confusion as they watched the two girls hit the ground then understood as less then a few seconds later a large green ball blasted through the kitchen.

They looked out the large hole in the wall and saw a tall bulky gray-green demon. He had two large horns protruding from his hairless head and large tusks that grew up from his jaw.

"Your blood will taste divine," he said in a low growl. He stalked closer, his eyes never leaving theirs. He leaned is head back taking in a deep breath. "A fox, a flame, a mortal, a kitten and do I smell an Ice Maiden…?" his hungry eyes landed on Yukina who was still under Hitomi. The cat demon tightened her hold around the green haired girl, letting her illusion fade revealing her cat features; her demon energy pulsated with fear. "Your tears… I must have them…" he smirked at the two girls, licking his lips with anticipation.

"Hitomi, get Yukina out of here…" Kurama's voice was firm but she could tell he was scared for his friend, even though he didn't show it in his voice. "Kuwabara go with them."

Kuwabara nodded and nudged Hitomi who was immobile with fear. She shook her head to calm herself then helped Yukina to her feet. The three ran though the house and out the front door towards the stairs.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Hmm… Who shall I eat first? The short one would make a good appetizer then the taller one would be a good first course," He thought out loud licking his thin gray lips, "The Big one would be a good entrée then I think I'll have the neko for a snack. And the Ice Maiden…" Hiei's eyes narrowed, "She'll make an excellent desert."

Hiei lunged at him bringing up his katana in an attempt to decapitate the large creature. The thing made no move to dodge but lifted his arm and allowing him to be hit. Hiei jumped back watching the blood run down it's arm and pool around it's feet.

"That was pathetic…" he said with a smirk.

"Let's see you block this one!" Yusuke shouted firing off his Spirit Gun.

* * *

With the Girls and Kuwabara

They ran til that met the top of the stairs when they heard several loud crashes and bangs. The girls couldn't move as they watched part of Genkai's temple cave in, sending a large cloud of dust up covering the back half of the building.

"Come on!" Kuwabara shouted from several steps down.

Yukina turned to walk down when an ominous voice made them halt in fear.

"Ready or not… Here I come," the large green monster walked towards them with a sinister look in his eye. He had two large gashes out of her chest and arm and many deep cuts on his forearms and legs but even with all thoughs injuries, it didn't seem to phase him. His eyes were glued to Yukina making her turn pale.

"Yukina, you gotta go to Kuwabara," Hitomi said trying to think of something.

Yukinas eyes went wide. "I can't leave you here by yourself. No, I won't do it," she said with weak defiance.

"You don't have much of a choice." Then she pushed her. Down the stairs she fell into Kuwabara's awaiting arms.

She looked back up just in time to see the demon towering over her. She took in a gasp of surprise only for it to be cut short by his hand as it gripped her thin, pale neck. She instantly grasped is wrist to try and pry herself free. He lifted her off the ground, his flaky yellow nails digging into her skin.

"You took away my Ice Maiden," he scowled at her tightening his grip, "No matter. I'll just have to make her cry harder to make up for all of these inconveniences."

His gaze bore deep hatred and hunger. She whimpered trying desperately to breathe.

"Hitomi," she heard someone yell. "Let her go!"

"No," he said simply, "I don't think I will." He turned quickly putting her between them.

"I can't get a clear shot." Yusuke whispered to Kurama.

"Genkai can…" Hiei said nodding his head to the stairs.

"She's turning blue," Yusuke commented not wanting to wait any longer.

Indeed, the hostage couldn't breathe. She began seeing stars and figured if she ever wanted to watch those bastards who killed her family die, she'd have to survive this. Gripping the demons' wrist, feeling her energy course through her and to her nails. In one fluid motion, she sliced the creatures hand clear off. She fell to the ground in a heap in front of it coughing uncontrollably. She looked down at her hands and saw all her nails were now 5 inches long. She relaxed her demon energy and the claw retracted back to their semi-normal form. She feebly backed away from him, breathing hard from lack of oxygen and fear. It howled in pain, cursing her to the heavens as it clutched its forearm.

"You! You'll pay for this yo-" but it was cut off by a beam of spirit energy shooting straight out its chest. Once it fell, Genkai could be seen standing behind it brushing off her hands. She had one of those parental, 'I leave you alone for 20 minutes to go shopping and this is what happens,' looks.

They all walked in and surveyed at the extent of the damages. Yusuke sighed knowing full well that he'd have to help clean it up. Walking over to the phone, Kurama turned to everyone and asked, "So, who wants pizza…?"

* * *

Sorry it took so long. I've been kinda busy. I hope you like it. Sorry if it's kinda 'blah' but I had to have some bonding in there. Much love.

K.D.


	4. Decisions

Hi. Sorry I haven't updated in a long time but I've had major brain block. Anyway, this one is the longers so far and I gave her more of a personality. I hope you enjoy it. K.D.

* * *

Everybody was exhausted. After a day like that then a total full out pizza fest followed shortly after by a covering of the open part of the temple then more pizza for dinner, it was a wonder they could still stand. That's when Koenma and Botan arrived.

"Hello everyone," Botan smiled widely waving at everyone.

There was a series of 'Hi's before Koenma, in his big teenager self, said, "I'll have your house cleaned up and fully repaired by Tuesday."

"Thanks…" was all the older woman said before walking off and going to bed.

"Would you like to stay? I just grabbed some ice cream if you want some." Yukina smiled as she set the large tub down on the table, several bowls sitting around it.

"We'd love to," Botan smiled pulling a reluctant Koenma behind her. Everyone walked into the living room minus Yukina and Hitomi who were busy making bowls of ice cream for all that wanted some. Bringing out some bowls, they handed them out in the middle of a very important discussion. What movie to watch before bed. The six couldn't decide, so they turned to the two girls who were acting as maids at the moment.

"Hey, Yukina, Hitomi…what kinda movie should we watch?" Yusuke asked receiving a bowl of chocolate-y goodness.

They both shrugged and walked back to grab their bowls then quickly seated themselves in available spots. Yukina was next to Kuwabara on the floor and Hitomi at the far end of the couch with Koenma and Botan on the other side. She slowly ate the desert suddenly feeling like an intruder.

"I got it!" Kuwabara shouted.

_'What he finally grew a brain...?'_ she heard a familiar voice say inside her head.

"Reservoir Dogs," he said with a smile. She shook her head as if it were one of the dumbest things ever.

"Are you kidding? You honestly want to have Yukina watch that? You'll corrupt her!" she said sarcastically, though they could tell she was joking. They had talked a lot in the kitchen and she knew the green haired demon very well now.

Kuwabara just huffed before Yusuke made a suggestion.

"American Pie?" Yusuke asked.

"Stiffler scares me… " Botan said with a sigh.

"Dogma…?" Koenma added, he liked it and it wasn't horrible.

"Nah… something less death. But a comedy does sound good; I'd kill to laugh right about now." Hitomi said taking another bite of the Rocky Road.

"Since you can't decide, how about The Notebook…" Botan smiled.

Hitomi's eyes grew wide and she quickly said, "Dogma, it is." Botan just frowned as they put in the movie and turned off the lights.

It wasn't long into the movie when the violence, even though it was a little exaggerated, started getting to her. She closed her eyes to keep the images out of her head. When she opened them she saw a death scene and had to avert her gaze.

To her right was a side table that had pictures that looked like they were from a prom. There were several pictures and she took her time looking at each of them to keep her mind off the movie.

The first was a medium sized photo of Yusuke and a girl with brown hair and matching eyes. Her ice blue dress matched his tuxedo shirt under the black coat. They were facing each other; their heads turned to the camera, smiling widely. It was in a black frame and in the corner was a smaller picture of the two in a fun, less serious pose. Yusuke was holding her bridal style, her arms were out and she looked like she was taken aback and caught off guard. Yusuke must have known this would happen because his expression was of pure evil.

She laughed inwardly at the thought, feeling sorry for the girl, then turned to Kuwabara and Yukina's picture. The bigger one was the goofy shot. Yukina, in her mint green spaghetti strap dress, was on Kuwabara's back while he leaned forward so she wouldn't fall. The two were laughing with large smiles on their faces; the same happy look that they always had. The smaller photo was adorable in Hitomi's eyes. The two were facing each other, holding the others hands, looking in each other's eyes, a serene look on both their faces.

Hitomi smiled at the cute-ness before turning to Kurama and Botan's picture. It was a nice photo and you could tell they went as friends. They were back to back, arms crossed and smiling. Their clothes also matching, her pink dress the same color as his tie. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she stared at the shot.

She turned to the next one and her eyes landed on a lone picture of Hiei. He was standing there in his tuxedo with a look on his face that clearly stated he was forced to go. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of them dragging him in front of the camera.

Next to it were two group pictures. One of the boys, who were all standing in their best brooding pose, she imagined Hiei didn't have to do much acting, and one of the girls; they were all leaning forward, blowing air kisses at the camera.

They were all friends and close friends at that if there was no one else in any of the captions. It seemed like they could be the only people in the world and they'd be just fine with it. And that thought made her feel very alone in a room full of people. She felt like a stranger looking in the window. They _had_ to come for her, it was their _job_, they were told she _had_ to live there. She knew all of this was true and was very grateful because she also knew they didn't have to like her or even be nice to her but they were.

'_What if we had met on different circumstances? What if I moved last year like we were going to and ended up at the same school as them? Would they have excepted me? Or act like all of the kids at school?'_ she thought about it for a while then noticed the room go dark.

She looked over at the screen and it was showing the ending credits. She did a quick survey of the room and saw that everyone was asleep except Hiei who was no where to be seen. Yusuke was in the recliner, Kurama was in the love seat, Koenma was sleeping sitting up with Botan on his shoulder, and the couple was on the floor. She stood quietly and picked up everyone's empty bowls and rinsed them out. She walked back into her room and opened her locked chest pulling out 4 blankets. She draped one over each of them; Koenma and Botan also having to share one like Yukina and Kuwabara, and locked up before going to bed.

The entire time she was doing this she didn't notice the fire demon watching her from a corner of the room.

* * *

_Everything was dark. The sky was blood red and the clouds were black. She heard screams and turned only to see her mother covered in blood slowly walking towards her in too much pain to cry. Her breath became caught in her throat and she felt her knees begin to buckle. Once she caught herself she ran to the woman's aid. She felt her legs moving, she saw the landscape rushing past her but she never got closer. _

_She fell and when she tried to stand it was as if something was holding her down. She turned and looked to see what tripped her and saw a hand, bloody and bruised, protruding from under several rocks. Her breathing became ragged and she looked up but her mother was no where to be found. She began digging to help the person trapped under the boulders. After she moved a large rock she saw his face and realized with shock, it was her father. His eyes were glazed over and there was a large gash across his neck. _

_She began to cry holding her face in her hands and when she looked up he was no longer there. She looked around for anyone who could help her. Then she felt a hand weakly grabbed her shoulder. She turned and came face to face with her grandfather. His silvery feather soft hair was stained with blood. He coughed and collapsed in front of her in a heap. She wrapped her arms around him, whispering 'It will be alright,' in his ear knowing she was lying._

"_Why, Hitomi," he said in a raspy voice. "Why didn't you try to save us? Why didn't you try?" he wheezed before coughing again. _

"_I'm so sorry, I couldn't. There was nothing I could do," she said as silent tears began to fall down her face. _

"_You didn't try, why didn't you try," he whispered. He closed his eyes and his whole body turned ashy gray then blew like dust in the wind out of her arms. She began crying harder and screamed into nothing. _

"_Poor kitty, I'll take all your pain away," said an all too familiar voice. She looked up sharply and her eyes met those of Yukio. She glared up at him as tears still fell. "It's your fault. They died because of you. They died protecting you. They could have run but you wouldn't be safe if they weren't there. They died protecting you just like these pathetic beings will too."_

_After that, the boys appeared behind him and ran towards her ready to attack. Her eyes widened as the cat demons who had helped in killing her family appeared behind them. _

"_NO! Behind you!" she cried as they sprinted to her aid. At hearing her plea they all turned and saw the demons lifting their blades ready to deliver a deathblow. She screamed as they brought their knife-like nails down. _

* * *

She felt strong hands gripping her shoulders. She heard screams then realized with shock that they were hers.

"Hitomi! Wake up, it's just a dream!" Yusuke shouted desperately trying to calm the panicked girl. "Kurama, it isn't working!"

She was caught between reality and her own nightmare. She could feel the hands, she could hear what they were saying, but what she saw was what she only focussed on. "Don't hurt them! Please, don't take them away from me." She screamed as she felt Yukios' blades scrape across her arm.

"Shut her up," Kuwabara shouted holding his ears.

"Move, Detective!" Hiei hissed as he pushed the boy out of the way. He sat down next to her and gripped her shoulder so she'd stop jerking around. Then he lifted his hand and quickly brought it down, slapping her hard across the face. Her screams stopped and her eyes shot open. She flung herself up and wrapped her arms around the closest one to her; Hiei. Her breathing was ragged and she was about to cry but calmed herself and pulled away for the boy.

"Sorry…" she said in a weak voice. He didn't respond, just stood and walked out of the room. She could feel all their eyes on her. The room was awkwardly silent then she spoke. "I'm going to take a shower so if you don't mind… " She said and they all filed out giving her concerned looks.

She locked her self in the bathroom and tried calming herself down; she let the hot water pour over her stiff muscles as she stepped in to the shower. She cleaned her self at least three times before she felt her hands stop shaking. She stepped out and changed into black Bermuda shorts, a white button up and black flip-flops. She pulled her hair back into a high messy bun and walked in to the living room.

"Hello Hitomi, are you feeling better?" Kurama asked, causing everyone to cast their eyes in her direction.

"Yeah, it was just a bad dream." She said with an embarrassed smile on her face.

"That's somewhat of an understatement… " Yusuke said as he started attacking Kuwabara's fighter in the video game.

She went to the fridge and pulled out some milk, pouring herself a glass. "Where are Koenma and Botan?"

"They left after breakfast," Kurama said turning a page in his book.

"What time is it…?" she asked looking for a clock.

Kurama glanced at his wrist then turned back to his book. "10 to 11…" he said nonchalantly.

Her ear twitched atop her head, as her eyes grew wide. "I'm LATE!" she shouted running off and towards her room.

"Late to what," Kurama called down the hall.

"Can't talk," she said as she rushed out the room. "How far are we away from Takisuma (1)?" She asked in a rushed voice.

"I don't know," Yusuke said after saving the game.

"Half an hours drive." Genkai appeared in the doorway, her stoic expression already set.

"DAMN!" she shouted as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Their eyes widened at her out burst. Since they've met her she had never really raised her voice about anything let alone cursed. "Do you need a ride…" Kurama said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes! Thankyouthankyouthankyou…" she said as fast as she could, relief lacing her voice.

In a few minutes they were down the stairs and in the car on the way. Kurama glanced over at the cat demon and noticed the look on her face. Trying to calm her, he said, "You should probably hide thoughs…" He indicated to her ears and tail.

She looked down at herself then closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked like her old human-like self. She looked in the passenger side mirror and began fixing her hair, tucking the longer strands back and making sure her eyeliner wasn't too thick or smudged.

"Would it be alright if I asked where we're going…?" he took another worried glance at her before looking back to cross a rickety bridge.

"We're going to see an old friend," she said with a smile on her face.

He gave her a wary look. "What kind of friend…?"

"You'll see," she smirked as a song came on the radio. She cranked up the volume and rocked out until they reached the city limits. "You'll want to take a right!" she shouted over the music.

The kitsune's ears were nearly bleeding but he complied then turned down the rock. "Alright, now where?" he asked as they came to a 4-way stop.

"Left but watch out for the squirrel…" she added as if she were discussing the weather.

He gave her an odd look but nevertheless made the turn, and who was there to welcome them but a large red squirrel. It had in its mouth what appeared to be acorn because that's what was in its tiny paws. As he creeped around the tiny mammal, it seemed to wave at Hitomi then bound off and up a tree.

He lifted an eyebrow at the girl. "Do I even want to know…?"

"Hm…? Oh, that's just Archie. I used to feed him when I was younger and know he always waits for me on that turn every time I come out here." She said in a very calm manner as if having a squirrel wave at you was normal.

He inwardly laughed at Hitomi. He was beginning to like this girl and was looking forward to being her friend. "So, are we almost there…?" he asked.

"Yep, it's that one on the end," she smiled when he pulled over. She hopped out and walked up to the door. At about the same time another girl walked out of the house. She had long reddish brown hair and looked like a foreigner. Kurama turned off his car and followed the cat girl instinctively thinking this was the friend she was talking about. Boy, was he wrong.

"It's about time you got here," the girl said in a preppy, high-pitched voice. Kurama looked from Hitomi to the girl and back hoping to see some form of friendship. At seeing none, he decided it'd be best to sit back and wait to be noticed. "I almost had to stay with her _again_."

"Awe, did Mica miss a chance to be date raped last week…?" Hitomi said with a sincere rude-ness Kurama had never heard from the girl before. "I apologize but I had something important that came up last minute."

Mica gave Hitomi a pathetic excuse of a glare then continued. "I had to stay with her all day because you didn't show up. And unlike freaks like you I have a life."

"Trust me, I wouldn't put her through the kind of torture people experience while being around you if it wasn't really important." Hitomi said with a smirk.

Mica was just about to make some comment when she finally noticed Kurama. "Oh, hello there. I'm Mica and you are?" Her sudden kindness took him off guard and for a moment he was speechless and could only stare from her sickeningly sweet smile to her out reached hand and back.

He shook his head then smiled politely, "Shuichi…" He went to grab her hand then he heard Hitomi's warning.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you," she said in a serious voice, "She radiates herpes." Kurama gave her a strange look then shook her off and shook the girls hand anyway. "I warned you."

"So, what's a hot thing like you doing hanging out with an outcast like her…?" she said smacking her gum.

Hitomi glared at Mica. Not giving Kurama the chance to respond, she said, "Not getting shit faced and passing out before noon like most of your 'I-can-crush-a-can-on-my-head' boytoys."

"Excuse me," Mica said with a sigh, "Are you his babysitter…?"

"No, doesn't pay enough," she replied sarcastically.

"Then why are you answering for him?" Mica asked with her hands on her hips. Kurama felt very uncomfortable at this point.

Hitomi just shrugged as if it were obvious. "Because I'm a smartass…"

Mica rolled her eyes and turned back to Kurama. "Hey," she said, back to her fake 'Nice-as-pie' demeanor. "If you ever want to ditch this loser and hang out with someone who can be your _real_ friend," she slipped something in to his front pocket, "Call me."

"You know what Mica," Hitomi said as the girl walked towards her car, "You're the type of person he'd ditch to hang out with his real friend, me. You know why? 'Cause I'm not superficial, materialistic, or a bitch!" she shouted as the car sped off down the road. Hitomi glance up at Kurama who was just staring at her in utter disbelief. "Hey, two out of three ain't all that bad," she turned and walked up to the door knocking loudly.

It was quiet for a moment then the door slowly creaked open revealing an older woman in about her late 60's. She was a little shorter than Kurama and had a full head of gray hair. "Hello Hitomi, come in. I just finished making some cookies." Hitomi smiled walking in quietly. She waved to a still stunned Kurama to try and get him to come in.

He just shook his head for the umpteenth time today and stepped in after her. "So, where's your friend…?" he asked glancing around the house.

She just smiled then motioned to the woman in front of them. "That _is_ her." Kurama looked at her oddly for a moment then understood and smiled.

"Hitomi, dear, is there someone else with you?" the woman asked turning around. Kurama noticed her eyes weren't focused on anything in particular and put two and two together. He turned to the cat demon and mouthed 'Blind'. She nodded then answered her friend.

"Yea, I brought my friend, Shuichi with me. Shuichi, this is Amanda. She's from the United States." She smiled as she introduced the two.

"Shuichi," the woman repeated then reached out, "That's a boys name, I believe. Come here, let me get a good look at you."

Kurama looked at Hitomi for some sort of help. She just nudged him towards her. The woman stepped forward and put her hands on his. For a few moments she just ran her fingers over his palm then she stopped. "You're a hard working boy to have all these calluses but gentle to have skin as soft as yours." She then moved her hands up his arms to his shoulders. "Very muscular, so he's not lazy and he has good posture so you're not embarrassed to be around him." Kurama blushed at her words but didn't say anything. "What colors his hair…?" she asked quietly.

"Red," Hitomi smiled at the look on the teen's face but suppressed the laughter she felt bubbling inside her.

"I remember red. And his eyes?"

"Emerald green. Just like Matt's used to be," she thought of Amanda's late husband with a sad smile but shook away the thoughts when Amanda's voice brought her back.

"Ah, what a lovely contrast. I approve," then she turned and walked slowly into the kitchen.

Hitomi stopped smiling after that. "We're not dating," she said in an assuring voice.

The old woman just smiled and ran her hands over the counter top until her hand brushed over a plate piled with chocolate chip cookies. "I didn't say you were. Would you like some," she asked holding the plate out.

Hitomi smiled and took one thanking her American friend. "So, why weren't you here last week? I had to spend my whole day with that evil witch commonly known as my granddaughter."

Kurama was slightly surprised at hearing such things coming from a woman of her age but then again he practically lived at Genkai's. Kurama looked at her, wondering what she would say, if anything, about why she didn't visit her friend.

Hitomi took a deep breath to calm herself down before she began. "Well, something horrible happened and," she took another deep breath, "my family died… I'm staying at my godmother's house now."

Amanda's eyes widened. She was in such shock she could barely bring her self to speak. "Oh my… Hitomi, dear. I can't believe… I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, it wasn't anyone's fault." The girl was quiet for a moment. Afterwards, Amanda erupted with dozens of questions to which Kurama and Hitomi flawlessly answered. In half an hour, they were on a lighter note with Kurama asking Amanda most of the questions. He found out about her son moving here for business and how she and her husband moved here for her son's wedding. How she always got lost because she couldn't speak Japanese and how she took lessons. They talked about her meeting Hitomi and her God-awful granddaughter. And about her husband dying and her blindness. And after the hour long talk he found himself respecting the woman and Hitomi for helping her as many times as she did, though she didn't know she did anything half the time.

"Alright, let's go. My petunias' wait for no one," she said with a smile as she walked out the back door. Once outside, Amanda grabbed a cane leaning up against the wall next to the door. She used it to guide her to the shed in the back. Hitomi and Kurama followed behind slowly. Kurama looked around at the beautiful garden that surrounded him.

"Come on, I don't have all day," the old woman said impatiently. They walked up to the shed and waited until the American woman emerged and handed them each a pair of gloves and aprons. "Now, Shuichi, if you have any problems, just ask me or Hitomi for help."

Kurama smiled at her words, "I used to garden with my mother when I was younger. I think I can manage."

"Really? What's your favorite flower?" she asked sitting down next to a small bush.

"Roses. I love roses. I have my own garden at home," he said with a smile.

"Well, I have some in the back. You think you could tend to them for me…?" she asked politely. She ran her fingers over the leaves of the bush and pulled out all the ones that felt cracked and dead.

"I would love to," and with that he was off.

"I like him, Hitomi. You should bring him by more often," the old woman said turning to the girl she knew was sitting to her left as always.

Hitomi smiled as she placed a ladybug next to some aphids. "I will," she smiled.

"Who knows, maybe this one won't turn out to be a spineless jellyfish like the last boy you invited over," the woman frowned at the memory.

"Maybe," she sighed. She had already thought of that possibility but she had hoped it wouldn't happen.

"Could you go over there and make sure he's not killing my babies," she asked referring to her roses.

Hitomi stood and walked the small path to the back garden. As she turned the corner she saw Kurama standing there, pruning the bushes to perfection.

"If only she could see this," Hitomi said as she stood next to him. The roses looked twice as gorgeous as they did last time she saw them.

"Yeah, they are a sight," he said looking at the flowers. "Hitomi, I was wondering. Why does she still garden?"

"I asked her the same question when I was 7. She said she wasn't going to let not being able to see her work stop her from enjoying it. Besides, she thinks gardening helped her keep her sight for as long as she did," she explained.

* * *

While the other two were back tending to the roses, Amanda had moved to a different bush and began pulling out the dead leaves and weeds when a small furry creature popped out and jumped straight into her arms.

"Well, hello there." She said petting it as it began to rub against her stomach. "Now, who do you belong to, little one?" She stood, grabbed her cane and began walking to the back garden to find Hitomi.

* * *

"Do you smell that…?" Kurama said urgently.

She sniffed the air lightly like him. After a few tries, she picked up on something she hadn't noticed before. She tried to recognize it but couldn't figure anything out.

"What is it?" she asked taking a deeper breath. "It's getting stronger." Just as she said this, Amanda stepped into view holding a small dog.

"A demon," he breathed. Suddenly, the canine jumped out of the senior's arms and transformed into a tall, muscular man with piercing black eyes and shoulder-length, matted gray hair. Amanda fell to the ground startled and scared out of her wits.

"Hitomi, what happened? Hitomi!" the woman called searching the ground for her cane.

"I knew the detectives would lead me to her," he mumbled to himself. He stalked closer, an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

"Hitomi, I'll take care of the demon. When I tell you, get Amanda to a safe place and wait. Got it?" he said hurriedly. The two instinctively stepped back as the dog creature began to walk towards them.

"I can't leave you by yourself. What if something happens?" she questioned as his onyx eyes bore into her with a menacing gleam.

"Nothing will happen. Trust me," he said with reassurance. He put a hand on her shoulder and shoved her, shouting 'Go!' as it lunged for her.

She fell to the ground but quickly picked herself up and ran to her friend's side. She picked the old lady up off the ground and hurried her towards the house. "Hitomi, what's going on? How did I fall? Where are we going?"

"No time for questions. We have to move. Now." Hitomi pushed them into the back yard. They were mere feet from the door.

"Hitomi!" she heard Kurama's voice shouted. She turned just in time to be smacked across the face. She fell to the ground in pain and fear, clutching her reddened cheek. She looked up at the monstrosity before her.

"Hitomi! Where are you? What happened?" Amanda said panicked. She reached her hands out trying to find her young friend.

"Go in to house. Everything will be fine." Hitomi said, finding her voice. She didn't take her eyes off of him as he walked closer. He turned and faced the American elder with a smirk. He shoved her into her azaleas and laughed as she made a startled cry. "Don't you touch her. Don't you ever touch her!" she shouted. She felt her blood boil at the sight of him just shamelessly tormenting the defenseless woman.

He smirked down at the black haired girl. "Oh really, you mean like this…?" he asked grabbing her by the collar and lifting her up off the ground.

"Hitomi!" she shouted in fear, flailing around in an attempt to free herself.

"Let her go!" she shouted as the demon laughed at the woman's pathetic kicks.

"On one condition." He smiled then in a swift motion, brought the woman close to him and put his massive hand to her neck, digging his nails into her skin. "Come with me or I'll rip out her wind pipe."

"Don't please." She begged on the verge of tears. She stood slowly and hung her head. "I'll come, just don't hurt her."

"Good kitty." He smirked at her defeat. He pulled the woman away and dropped her back on top of her flowerbed before grabbing her. "All right, let's go."

"You're not going anywhere," an all too familiar voice said from behind. The large creature turned just in time to see a long green whip fly at him. With lightning fast reflexes, he ducked out of the way and pulled Hitomi with him.

Hitomi looked and saw the intense gaze of her new redheaded friend. She looked at him with grateful eyes, happy he was unscathed, only for it to get wiped away as the demon wrapped his hand around her bad wrist (1). She gasped in pain as his grip tightened. Tears began to run down her face but she bit back her screams.

"Let her go," Kurama said, his eyes flashed gold for a split second at seeing the girls suffering.

The dog's smirk grew. "Or you'll, what, kill me?" he snorted at the thought.

"No," he said plainly then looked past the demon calmly, "But he might." As soon as those words were spoken, a blade was pressed to his neck. He stiffened at the touch but didn't let go.

"You're bluffing," he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

Hiei's eyes narrowed, "I don't bluff." The blade pressed harder against the stranger's throat.

His grip on Hitomi's wrist went slack. She tried pulling it free only for it to be squeezed even harder. She let out a scream from the sudden intense pain. Momentarily blacking out, she missed Hiei decapitate the assailant and move her into the house along with Amanda.

She felt her arm throbbing and for a moment prayed everything that had happened in the last week had been a nightmare and she had just fallen out of bed. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

"Hitomi, are you alright?" Kurama asked putting a cold rag to her head.

She groaned, trying to will herself in to a coma but after nothing happened, she sat up and looked around. She was still in Amanda's house. The woman wasn't in the room so she knew she wouldn't be obligated to explain anything for a while. Hiei was leaning against the wall furthest from her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed looking down at herself. "What about you guys'?"

Kurama smiled. "I'm alright and Hiei never even got hit." He noticed the look on the girl's face and nodded his head; "Amanda's also fine. Though, she is a little shaken up."

"Does she know anything…?" she asked weighing her options.

"No. We thought we should leave that to you," his eyes showed an apology, as if he knew this would be difficult for her.

She was silent for a moment thinking everything through. Finally taking a heavy sigh, she turned head to the fox demon but refused to meet his gaze. "Where is she?" He nodded towards the kitchen and, mustering up as much courage as she possibly could, she stood and walked into her old friend's kitchen for the last time.

The woman was sitting at the table drinking coffee. She could smell cream and sugar in the air as she walked closer. Taking a seat in front of the American, she forced her self to speak.

"Amanda, I'm so sorry about earlier. Are you alright?" she asked sadness lining her words.

"Of course, dear. I'm not as pathetic as I seem. Besides, it wasn't your fault," she smiled to assure Hitomi she was, in fact, fine before continuing. "Who was that that attacked us?"

"Amanda…" she said with a heavy voice, "There's something I have to say." She didn't wait for the woman to ask. "I'm not the person you thought I was. I'm not the person _I_ thought I was. And that guy… That thing that attacked us was after me, not you or Shuichi, me. I can't tell you much but," she felt tears begin to well in her eyes. Her voice hitched and for a moment, she couldn't talk.

"Hitomi, are you alright?" she asked with fear, "If you're in any kind of trouble, you can tell me and I won't judge you. I can help you, Hitomi."

"That's the thing. You can't. I almost got you killed. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. Amanda, this will be the last time you ever speak to me." She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Hitomi, what are you saying," she asked with slight panic.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry." After that, she just stood up and left. She walked past the boys, ignoring Amanda's questions and calls. She got in the car and sat there waiting, wiping the tears from her eyes.

The two boys joined her a few moments later and they began to drive down the road. Kurama glanced at the girl then Hiei. After getting no reaction from the fire youkai, he finally spoke.

"You didn't have to do that," he waited a moment for her to speak but after nothing came, continued. "We still have friends and family outside of this. You didn't have to do that."

"She was a 68 year old, blind woman who can barely walk on her own, let alone defend herself," she said staring out the window. "I couldn't let that happen again."

"Koenma watches out for my mother and Yusuke's girlfriend, Keiko. I'm sure he could do the same for her," he said trying to persuade her that everything would be fine.

"The same toddler whose informants were wrong on which day my family was to be attacked?" she said bitterly. She could feel him about to protest, so she cut him off. "I would rather never speak to her again then visit her everyday in a cemetery," and with that, the conversation was over. The rest of the ride home was fairly quiet and Hitomi was looking forward to her second shower of the day. Until…

"Koenma would like to speak with you, Hitomi," Botan said as the three reached the top of the stair. She groaned then asked what it was about. "You're living arrangements. He says he's come up with a permanent solution."

Hitomi sighed but nevertheless walked through the portal before and entered the prince's office.

"Hello Hitomi, how is your day going?" he smiled politely.

"Cut the chit chat, I'm not in the mood." She rubbed her temples to relieve some of the tension from the headache that had formed just a few moments ago.

"Alright, well, here's the thing," he began, "I've been thinking about which choice would be better suited for your situation and since I can't decide, you have two choices."

"Okay, shoot," she said sitting down in an over-stuffed chair in front of the future leader of Spirit World.

"Well, the first one is you train with Genkai like Yusuke had and for you to become a Spirit Detective," he was about to go on but was interrupted by a certain cat demon.

"I have two questions." He nodded for her to continue. "Okay, the first was, Weren't you going to have her train me anyway?"

"Well, yes and no," she looked at him with a confused gaze. "You see, when powers are bound, after a certain point they release on their own if not done properly. That's why I had Genkai release them for you because when bound energy is release on it's own then it cause's a lot of damage and could hurt a lot of people. Also, I had her show you how to hold them in so that you wouldn't have to hide your tail in your jeans or something."

"So, it was pretty much all for show?" she said but once again interrupted him as he was about to yell at her. "And second, How the Hell is making me a Spirit Detective going to keep me safe?"

"Think about it," he said as if it were totally obvious. "You're a princess that has a bounty on her head, so naturally they'd think you were in a high security, padded-wall facility with no contact with the outside world at all. I'd be hiding you out in the open and since nobody knows what you look like, you age or name they wouldn't even know it was you. Plus, you'd be able to hold your own if none of the guys are there to help you."

She thought about this for amount, "And the ladder?"

"You'd stay in a high security, padded0wall facility with no contact with the outside world at all until your uncles been killed or captured, which could take decades." He saw the apprehension on her face and softened. "The decision is entirely up to you. I won't force you into anything."

She sat there in silence then nodded. "So, when do I start training…?"

* * *

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy. I'll try not to make the wait as long this time. Have a great summer.

K.D.


	5. Training

Thank you all for reading and please review if you can.

* * *

Hitomi had face planted four times before Genkai said she could rest. She hobbled over to the sidelines and picked up her water bottle, which was half-empty. She had just started her skills training with the old woman a week ago after three weeks of conditioning and she was surprised with how fast she was improving. Of course, she wouldn't survive in a fight with any of the boys yet but she was getting there. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the first day she began this up hill struggle.

* * *

She had just gotten back from Koenma's and told everyone the 'exciting' news. After hearing this, Genkai got up and told her to change. She attempted to protest but when the old fighter didn't budge, she reluctantly stood and trudged to her room. She came out in the only workout outfit she owned and when she walked outside, she took a deep breath and prepared for the worse.

"Alright. Today, all I want to know is where you're at when it comes to strength and endurance," she said with a blank stare on her wrinkled face.

'_Boy, is she in for a treat…'_ she thought to herself already hating this.

'_You're really that pathetic, huh?'_ that pesky voice mocked.

'_Who the Hell are you?'_ she asked irritated.

"Hitomi, pay attention," she heard being shouted at her, "I'll take you out to the lake to train. You won't have an audience there." The woman glared at something behind her. As she turned to look, she saw two heads duck down but she could still see the slicked back hair of Yusuke and the brown-orange duck tail of Kuwabara.

She shook her head at the two of them and followed her new sensei back far behind the temple. Once they got there, the sight before Hitomi was spectacular. The water was a clear, shimmering blue, the foliage was perfectly green and healthy, the sounds around her were melodic and enchanting… It was as if she were back home.

"This place is beautiful," she said with awe.

"It didn't use to be. Kurama had to work on this place for weeks," Genkai said, glancing around with indifference. "Alright, now let's come back to Earth and start sometime today. I want you to do as many crunches as you can."

"What?" Hitomi asked still slightly distracted.

"Crunches. You know. Half sit-ups? Do them." Genkai tried hard not to smack the girl right then and there.

Hitomi glared at the woman but nevertheless lay down in front of her and began. She started at a steady rate but after 10 she slowly began stopping. After 22, she felt like her stomach was going to explode and stopped. She was breathing heavily and felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment at her fitness and lack there of. Once the burning pain in her torso subsided, she sat up with much difficulty and smiled.

"Next," she panted.

Genkai rolled her eyes at her new student before continuing; "Alright. Next I want you to do as many push-ups as you can."

Hitomi laid back down and rolled onto her stomach. She took a breath and began lowering herself until the gruff voice of her sensei stopped her.

"What the Hell is that supposed to be?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"A push-up," she said with a sighed, "May I ask why?"

"Your form is terrible. Center your shoulders. That's right. Now, lift your knees. Okay, feet together. Good. Now, drop your butt and look straight at the ground." When Genkai was done, Hitomi looked at though she had an invisible plank tied to her. It was painful but whatever she had to do she would.

"Now can I start?" she asked impatiently. When Genkai nodded she began but was once again stopped.

"Your elbows should make 90degree angles before you push yourself back up." Once she was satisfied, she had her start and just like with the crunches she didn't make it past 25. Hell, she didn't make it past 15. When she stopped, she was once again gasping for air. She prayed to Kami she was done. Of course, the god was never really on her side.

"Alright, if you're not dead, I want you to run one mile and I'll time you." Genkai knew what she was going to ask so she answered, "After this, you're done."

Hitomi smiled at the old woman and could have hugged her but her arms begged not to be moved. After a few more moments, she stood and readied herself. Genkai said four laps around the lake was a mile and gave her the go-ahead. She took off. After 4 minutes, she completed her first lap. "I should've brought a book," the pink-haired woman mumbled to herself. 11 minutes later the girl was done and fell over in exhaustion. She sat there for a moment to catch her breath then stood and walked slowly back to the temple with the older woman.

When she got back, she ignored the boy's questions, took a long shower and changed into her pajamas. She sat on the couch and laid out, watching Yusuke duke it out on some fighting game. Within minutes, she was asleep. The rest of the day and night, she slept. No one woke her, even if they tried.

* * *

The next morning, she was told her training schedule. She had to run a ¼ mile twice a day and swim three laps across the lake between them. She had to do 20 crunches and push-ups three times a day and various leg exercises. She had to stretch right before and immediately after each exercise. After a week Genkai would check to see her progress. Hitomi had asked why not give her a longer time. To which Genkai answered, being demon, it wouldn't take you as long as it would if you were a human strengthening yourself.

After a week, she was evaluated and she had to do more than she was. Instead on running a ¼ mile twice a day, it was a ½ mile twice a day with weights on her ankles. Instead of three laps in the lake, it was six. Everything was doubled, though she could barely survived doing the original amount given, and after the next week, to her surprise, nothing changed. She had to now begin working on her balance to prepare her for her fighting skills.

This one Genkai helped her with daily. First she started out with a foot wide plank. The more the hours went by, the thinner the board got till it was 5 inches. After the week was over she could walk on a ½ inch thick rope. She was so proud of herself. And then the real training began at first she taught her blocking and that lasted three days. Then attacking. First punching then kicking and now here she is learning combinations with Genkai.

She couldn't believe so much she had grown in just one month. A month ago, she couldn't protect herself, she couldn't hold her own in a fight and she sure as Hell wouldn't have fought Genkai for the life of her. She hated the whole training process but couldn't help but smile whenever she had achieved something. To her, it was awesome.

* * *

That night Hitomi came home with brand new bruises gracing her arms, legs and a lovely scrape across her cheek.

"Genkai kicked your ass again, I see," Yusuke mocked until the 'ass kicker' herself walked in behind her. "You're kidding me! It took me almost two weeks to land a hit on her!" Sure enough on the side of Genkai's face was a small, but noticeable purple mark.

Hitomi just grinned smugly then said with triumph, "I know." She then proceeded in her happy dance. "Oh, yeah. I'm bad. I'm bad. Oh, yeah. Break it down, now." She 'shook her groove thang' for only a few seconds when, "AHHHH!" she few over the back of the couch, rolled and landed on her knees in front of it. "I'm okay."

'_Don't worry,'_ the voice said, '_No one cares.'_

'_Ass,' _Was all that came to mind. She stood slowly then limped down the hall. "I'm gonna go take an ice bath now. If I don't come back yadda yadda, you know the drill." The door shut behind her and "AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone jumped up and rushed to her room. She ran out in a panic and cowered behind Kurama. They all asked random questions to which she answered, "It's huge."

"What is it?" Yusuke asked ready to take whatever it was on.

She didn't say anything, just pointed at the door and trembled. Slowly, they opened the door and jumped inside. The thing was, they didn't see anything.

"Where is it?" Kuwabara asked with an intense look on his face.

"It's in the corner," she said in a squeak of a voice.

Kurama walked further into the room cautiously. He made a complete 360. No having seen, smelled or sensed anything, he took his guard down and walked back over to the frightened 16-year-old.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now," he shrugged. Looking down at the neko, he smiled. "You're safe, alright?"

She just stared past him, eyes wide. "But it's right there, I see it." She pointed at the nightstand next to her bed. The boys all looked at where she was pointing. And, again, no one saw a thing. "How can you not see it? It's _huge_!" Hitomi said in a loud whisper.

With a frustrated sigh, Hiei walked into the room and right up to the nightstand. He examined every inch of the small area when he finally saw what she was fussing over. There, sitting soundly on one of the many half read books, next to her record bowl of change, was a small eight-legged gray-brown arachnid commonly known as a Daddy long leg. Hiei turned to the girl with a look of utter annoyance. He glared at her for what felt like hours.

"This is the big emergency?" he said more than asked. "A spider?"

Hitomi hung her head at the ridiculousness of it all. She lifted her gaze to argue her defense but stopped seeing the look on his face.

"You're afraid of spiders?" Yusuke said stifling a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah… Yuck it up." She mumbled profanity under her breath as she cheeks burned bright red.

Hiei rolled his eyes and lifted his hand to kill the small predator. He was just about to end its short life when Hitomi piped up.

"Don't kill it!"

"You shout in distress, cower in fear and have us all ready to face whatever was in here and you don't even want to kill the small blood sucker?" With every word he grew more and more irritated.

"I apologize for any inconvenience but it's a bit of a phobia," she said lifting her head to meet his gaze, "And though I fear them, I don't want you to kill it."

Hiei huffed at her logic. Lifting his sword, he put the blade next to the intruder and scooped it up. Opening the girls' window, he let it go and stormed out of the room. When everyone left, Hitomi sighed and went into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, everyone was back to doing his or her usual bit. Video games, reading, brooding… When Botan arrived he told the boys of yet another case. It was easy to say this was a very busy month for them. 7 cases and Koenma had told Botan to tell them not to plan anything that couldn't be changed in the next few days. After a few more minutes of briefing, they were off.

Hitomi watched forlornly as they jumped though the swirling portal that she had seen them go in so often before. She longed to go and try out her new skills but knew she wouldn't last very long against even the weakest, most pathetic demon out there. She enjoyed hearing of their adventures but had them keep the 'gory' details to a minimum and with every exciting mission she became more and more anxious. A lot of the time she would have Genkai walk out to the lake and train with her even harder but the old woman said she needed rest after how hard she pushed herself today.

"Long time no see, how are you?" Botan asked cheerfully as she sat down next to the black haired girl.

"Tired. How are you and the baby?" Hitomi tried smiling but a cut from two days ago on her left cheek made it look more like a pained wince.

Botan, being her overly happy and understanding self, ignored the look on her face and smiled back. "I'm fine but he's always stressed out about something," Botan glanced quickly over the girls face and other areas of skin and looked surprisingly pleased. "Genkai's working you pretty hard, I see. She did the same to Yusuke when she took him as sort of a successor. Only he had more bruises 'cause he never blocked."

"Well, I never attack. I always try in the beginning but give up after a while. So, what are you up to today?" she asked her blue haired friend.

"Me and a few of my friends are going shopping," Botan smiled widely then added, "You should come. It would be some much fun. We could go get our hair done and pedi's and mani's and shop for hours and-"

"Sorry, Botan but I'm not supposed to leave the house without one of the guys until Genkai says I don't need a babysitter," she said cutting her off mid-sentence. "Besides, if I go out looking like a human punching bag, I might get the cops called on Genkai for child abuse."

"Are you sure? It's gonna be fun…" she said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm sure, go crazy." She watched as the not-so-grim reaper walked out the door. She tilted her head so it rested on the back of the couch and sighed heavily.

"What's wrong, Miss Hitomi," a small voice said from behind her. She turned and saw the green haired ice maiden looking at her with concern in her red eyes.

"It's nothing. I'm just bored and very tired." She stood and stretched earning a sympathetic look at hear about ten joints pop.

"Why don't you go take a nap," Yukina suggested. "I'll wake you when the boys get back."

Hitomi smiled at the shorter girl. "Thanks, Yukina." She then walked slowly into her room and shut the door. _'Now to sleep.'_

This was easier said then done. Ever since the nightmare she had about a month ago, she and the Sandman haven't gotten along very well. She laid down on her bed and tried letting her tired body ease her into the Land of Dreams. After 15mins, she stood and paced for a few moments. She hadn't had a decent nights sleep in weeks and she was sick of it. She took off her shoes, turned on some music and laid back down. She closed her eyes and concentrated only on the music that flooded her ears. Slowly, she felt her muscles relax. The music became more and more distant. She was surrounded by darkness.

For awhile, she had a pleasant dreamless sleep. And then a picture began forming in her head.

* * *

_She was in a large field cover with wild flowers. She wore a beautiful white dress. Everyone was there, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Botan, Yukina, Genkai, even Koenma and Hiei, though the scowl didn't leave his face. Then she turned around and standing there, mere feet away from her, was she mother, father and grandfather. With tears of joy rolling down her face, she ran to them, arms open and a big smile on her face. She hugged them tight and prayed she'd never have to let go. She then turned and introduced her family to her friends and the fun began. Everyone told different stories and jokes. They laughed until there side were sore. She wanted it to be like this forever. _

_As the day went on she had more and more fun with everyone there. She couldn't help but smile. She was so happy._

_Then she blinked. And before her wasn't the happy image of just about everyone she cared about sitting around a freshly made camp fire she had seen seconds before. The sky was red and filled with clouds. The trees looked white and the leaves were black. No one was anywhere to be found. She looked around in a panic. Her eyes grew wide with dread and fear as she heard a voice that was all too familiar._

"_Hitomi, what's wrong? Are you lost," Yukio taunted. His eyes had a kind of madness hidden in them that sent shivers down her spine. "Did your friends desert you?"_

_She looked at him, her lime green eyes wide and filled with terror. He smiled evilly with the satisfied with himself. He walked slowly around her, circling her as if he were a predator ready to pounceon his prey. _

"_What's wrong, Hitomi? Didn't you miss me," he let out a fake gasp of surprise, "Hitomi, I'm hurt." Then he stopped and glared at her with such malice it made her take several steps back. "But not as much as you'll be."_

_She blinked again. He disappeared. She turned around, anxiously looking for him. She heard his sick laugh echo through the clearing, followed quickly by a gasp. She turned in to direction od the noise and was splattered with something warm and thick. She looked down at herself. Her hands were coated in it. Her dress was stained with the red liquid. Looking up, she saw her mother lying motionless on the ground before her, blood pouring from her neck. She could contain the pained cried as she stared at the lifeless corpse. She heard his cackle from behind again and turned, fearing the worst. She let out a strangled gasp as she saw she father fall and was once again splattered. She could still see the scared expression on is face. She heard him again and turned. It was her grandfather. He took in his last breath as if to tellher something but his body wnet limp and he was gone. _

_She then began crying harder and harder. With every noise she heard, she turned and saw someone else fall. The more people died the more she cried and screamed and wanted this nightmare to end. _

"_Stop!" she screamed, "Please, stop." She sobbed uncontrollably as he walked closer. _

"_If you want me to stop," he grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her, "you have to wake up." _

_She sobbed harder and tried breaking free from him. She thrashed about trying to get him to let go but his grasp only tightened._

* * *

"Wake up. Hitomi, wake up," a certain spirit detective said trying to cease his friends tears. Gently, he shook her shoulders and finally, after half an hour of begging her to wake up, her eyes began to flutter open. "Hitomi, what's wrong? Are you okay," he asked handing her a tissue to dry her eyes with.

She sniffled and sighed. "I'm fine, I just had a nightmare."

"Last time you had a 'nightmare' Hiei had to slap you to stop you from screaming." He gave her a look that said, 'You can't B.S. the Master of B.S.'. "Now, what wrong?"

She tried her hardest not to but before she could stop herself she was crying on Yusukes shoulder telling him everything. What she saw when her family was attacked, about Yukio, her nightmares and her resent sleep deprivation. He just sat there and rubbed her back telling her it would be okay and calming her down. After a few minutes, the two fell silent as she finally stopped crying and he continued comforting her.

"Hey, guys," Kuwabara said, sticking his head in the door. He looked at his feline friend with deep concern but at the look Yusuke was giving him, he thought it was better not to ask. "Dinners ready."

"Hey, you hungry?" he asked nudging her, "We're having Mongolian barbecue."

"Sure, let me just go wash up," she smiled weakly and watched the two leave before standing and going into the bathroom.

She looked at her reflection and glared at herself. Aside from the scrapes and bruises she looked like crap. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were puffy and red and the corners of her mouth seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown. It took her a good 20 minutes to clean herself up. When she walked into the dining room, everyone was already eating, talking merrily amongst themselves about the day's events. When at last she was noticed, everyone fell silent. She didn't meet the gaze of anyone there and just kind of stood in the doorway. She finally walked slowly to her usual spot and sat down quietly. For a while no one said anything.

"Um, could you pass the beef?" she asked Kurama causing everyone to inwardly jump at the sudden sound of her voice.

After handing it over, everyone seemed to go back to normal. Yusuke went back to telling his joke about a bear in a leotard, Kurama continued his one-sided conversation with Hiei about something that happened in their pasts and every once in awhile Genkai or Yukina would comment on something that was happening in someone's story. Once Yusuke was done and everyone was either laughing or rolling their eyes, Hitomi finally asked what she had wanted to since she woke up.

"So, how'd the mission go?" and then an explosion erupted from Yusuke and Kuwabara as they both tried explaining the awesome-ness of the whole experience. Now and then Kurama would add a word or two about what happened only to be interrupted by the pair. She smiled at hearing about how Yusuke was taking on more then he could handle only for Hiei to, reluctantly, come to his rescue, then threaten to kill him himself if he ever put himself in that postion again. Or about how Kurama had some demon sneaking up behind him and Kuwabara stopped it dead in it's tracks before it could even lift it's blade. Kuwabara was going to go into great detail about how her slaughtered several demons but was stopped just in time but a look from Genkai.

She longed to go on a mission with them, one mission and as she voiced this, Genkai's raspy reply was; "Koenma said that when you can take on a C class demon you can join the team." At hearing this Hitomi felt like jumping through the nearest portal and kissing the young prince full on the mouth. She then had a confused look on her face.

"What's he mean by, 'C class demon'," she asked looking around the table for an answer.

"Demons, and even some humans, are put in classes based on their strength. You're about a high D," Kurama explained to the cat demon.

"My guess is that's not a good thing," earning a nod from Yusuke. "So, what are you guys," she asked curiously.

"Yusuke's about a low S class, Hiei and I are about mid to high A class and Kuwabara's about a low A to high B class," once again explained by Kurama.

"So, who's stronger?" she asked not understanding the order.

"Yusuke, S class is the highest there is, then A, B, C, then D. Anything under a D doesn't have a classification. It would have the spiritual engery of an average human." There was a reason he was the smart one.

"Well, I have a ways to go," Hitomi mumbled to herself.

Yukina stood to take the plates as everyone finished up with dinner. Hitomi followed suit helping like she did after every meal. It didn't take long to finish the dishes. Afterward, the two brought pie and ice cream out to everyone in the living room. The boys were watching some scary movie marathon and currently Sixth Sense was playing.

She loved the movie. It was something her and her grandfather would watch together. She smiled remembering he had jumped more times then she did while sitting on their couch back home. The thought of flying popcorn made her almost laugh.

After the second movie began playing, she took the plates into the kitchen. Hiei had walked in behind her and stood expectantly next to her with his plate. Having got the message, she scooped more ice cream onto the small plate. Putting the remainder of the French Vanilla in the freezer she began cleaning the plates. After awhile, felt as though she wasn't the only one in the room and turned quickly only to see Hiei sitting on the counter top. She gave him an odd look before continuing.

"So, why aren't you watching the movie with the others," she asked as the question began burning in the back of her mind.

He looked at her blankly. She started feeling as though she wasn't going to receive an answer when, "I hate that movie."

"Me too," she agreed. She thought about the last time she saw it and how she had just about peed her pants from laughing so hard. "But it's good for a laugh." After saying this, she looked up and noticed the black clad boy silently agreeing with her.

It became silent in the large kitchen, as neither had anything to say. When she finished cleaning up she walked out of the kitchen saying good night to the fire demon then the others. At hearing this, they all looked at her with concerned expressions on her face.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, really," she assured them then walked into her room. She may have looked as though she wasn't worried about her dreams but she had always been told she had an excellent poker face. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming herself. She brushed her teeth, pulled her hair back, and changed into her pajamas. She stood in front of her bed, staring at it as if it were her mortal enemy. Slowly, as if it would jump at her she made any sudden movements, she laid down on the bed and closed she eyes. Soft music filled her ears, gently easing her into her first good nights sleep in weeks.

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading. And thank you for the great reviews. I hope you guys are enjoying it. Keep reading and thanks again. And don't worry I'm not changing this to a Yusukexoc. They're just gonna kinda have a brother/sister relationship.

K.D. Fahn


End file.
